Abortion

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 22 October (WA 1), what is the legal basis on which the duty to provide abortion services for women living in Northern Ireland has been delegated to primary care trusts; whether primary care trusts are able to discharge that duty for all such women patients or only specified categories of women patients; and, if so, for what categories.

Earl Howe: The Secretary of State has a duty under Section 3 of the National Health Service Act 2006 to provide a variety of secondary care services to such extent as he considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements. This duty is delegated to primary care trusts (PCTs) in Regulation 3(2) of, and Part 2 of Schedule 1 to, the National Health Service (Functions of strategic health authorities and primary care trusts and administration arrangements) (England) Regulations 2002 ("the Regulations").
	Regulation 3(7) of the regulations sets out who a PCT is responsible for exercising functions (including the Section 3 duty) in respect of. Under Regulation 3(7), there are two sets of limited circumstances in which PCTs would be able to exercise their delegated functions to provide abortion services to women resident in Northern Ireland. The first is set out in Regulation 3(7)(a)(iii), which provides that a PCT shall exercise its delegated functions in so far as those functions consist of the provision (or securing the provision) of certain services to "qualifying patients" resident in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland who are present in its area and do not fall under the responsibility of another PCT. This essentially covers persons resident in the above countries with serious mental illness who are present in a PCT's area. The second is set out in Regulation 3(7)(b)(i), which provides that a PCT must exercise its delegated functions in so far as those functions consist of the provision (or securing the provision) of accident and emergency services for the benefit of all persons resident in its area.
	A PCT's functions under Regulation 3(7)(a)(iii) will clearly be exercisable only in respect of the limited number of women who fall within that provision. A PCT's functions under Regulation 3(7)(b)(i) will be exercisable in respect of any person present in the PCT's area.
	There is no absolute right for a patient to receive particular treatment under the NHS. A PCT has delegated powers to provide abortion services to a woman who is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland but present in the PCT's area in so far as that provision falls within Regulation 3(7)(a)(iii) or (b)(i) and is considered by the PCT to be necessary to meet all reasonable requirements. The PCT can take into account all relevant factors in deciding what is necessary to meet all reasonable requirements. Each PCT, in exercising the delegated duty in relation to abortion services, will make its own judgment whether to provide treatment to a woman resident in Northern Ireland, based on the circumstances of each case.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 17 December (WA 268), whether they will collect data on the sex of unborn babies aborted after 10 weeks gestation; and why they do not collect that data already.

Earl Howe: Work is in progress to monitor gender ratios at birth following a recent report by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. While the overall United Kingdom birth ratio is within normal limits, analysis of birth data for the calendar years from 2007 to 2011 has found the gender ratios at birth vary by mothers' country of birth. For the majority of groups, this variation is the result of small numbers of births and does not persist between years.
	However, for a very small number of countries of birth there are indications that birth ratios may differ from the UK as a whole and potentially fall outside of the range considered possible without intervention. However, it is possible that this is also the product of natural variation. Monitoring of this issue will continue.
	Identifying the gender of aborted foetuses over 10 weeks' gestation raises ethical and clinical issues. We have no plans to introduce such a practice.

Adoption

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many newborn babies were available for adoption during the past 12 months for which figures are available.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: Information on the number of newborn babies available for adoption is not collected by the department. Information is collected on the number of looked-after children for whom the decision has been made by the local authority that it would be in the child's best interests to be placed for adoption. The number of looked-after children aged under 1 at 31 March 2012 and with such an adoption decision in place was 3,670. A further 50 children aged under 1 at 31 March 2012 were placed for adoption with the consent of parents or guardians.
	Of the 3,670 looked-after children with an adoption decision in place, 560 had also become the subject of a placement order in the year ending 31 March 2012.

Afghanistan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with the Government of Afghanistan regarding the protection that is currently given to United Kingdom-managed or United Kingdom-supported official aid and development programmes by British or NATO and International Security Assistance Force armed forces which are due to be withdrawn after 2014.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any UK-supported Afghan aid projects in the voluntary sector currently receive protection from British or NATO and International Security Assistance Force Armed Forces; and what provision has been made for their future protection after 2014.

Baroness Northover: One UK-supported development programme is protected by International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops. The FCO-funded infrastructure project "Route 611" is scheduled for completion before ISAF forces redeploy at the end of 2014 whereupon ownership will transfer to the Afghan Government. The UK Government are in regular contact with the Afghan Government, in Helmand and Kabul, to ensure that adequate funding is provided for future operation and maintenance of all current UK development projects transferring to Afghan ownership.

Agriculture: Soil Management

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they contributed to the World Soil Day on 5 December organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the subsequent 3-day technical workshop on Sustainable Soil Management; and whether anyone from the United Kingdom took part.

Lord De Mauley: The Government did not take any specific action to contribute to World Soil Day 2012. Nevertheless, the Government continue to raise awareness and knowledge of soils issues through, for example, close working with farming stakeholders and research councils.
	The Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) technical workshop on sustainable soil management was attended by the President of the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS). Defra is continuing to liaise with the BSSS on the development of the Global Soils Partnership, which is being taken forward under the auspices of the FAO.

Agriculture: Soil Management

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their definition of a healthy soil; and whether they intend to develop that definition further for the purposes of the common agricultural policy reform.

Lord De Mauley: There is presently no agreed definition of a healthy soil and we do not intend to develop one for the purposes of common agricultural policy reform. However, research has been carried out to define quantitatively the properties of soils that support different ecosystem services and we are continuing to fund further research in this area. The Government's vision for soils is set out in the Natural Environment White Paper 2011, The Natural Choice. This states that by 2030 we want all of England's soils to be managed sustainably and degradation threats tackled successfully in order to safeguard their ability to provide essential ecosystem services and functions for future generations.

Airports: Gatwick and Heathrow

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Institute of Directors' report into airport expansion at Gatwick and Heathrow.

Earl Attlee: The Government's position on expansion at Heathrow and Gatwick airports remains unchanged and as set out in our coalition agreement.
	We have, however, appointed Sir Howard Davies to chair an independent commission to identify and recommend to Government options for maintaining the UK's status as a leading global aviation hub.
	I would encourage the Institute of Directors to submit any relevant evidence on such matters to the Airports Commission.

Airports: Security

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what regulatory system applies in respect of security for passengers at airports; and what are the risks which any such system is intended to mitigate.

Earl Attlee: The European Union has competence in the field of aviation security. Accordingly, UK airports are subject to European regulations that set common rules for safeguarding civil aviation.
	In addition, the UK has a number of requirements in place over and above those common rules (known as more stringent measures); these are regulated under powers contained in the Aviation Security Act 1982.
	The regime is designed to mitigate the risk of acts of unlawful interference with civil aviation, primarily arising from the terrorist threat.

Airports: Security

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they determine the adequacy of security arrangements at foreign airports; and on what risks their determination is based.

Earl Attlee: Internationally, civil aviation is overseen by ICAO (the International Civil Aviation Organisation), a specialist body of the UN. Under the ICAO treaty the responsibility for aviation security lies with host states. In order to validate this, ICAO carries out a programme to audit aviation security in each state. The results of these audits are confidential to the state and ICAO.
	The Department for Transport maintains a small network of overseas liaison officers who work with states in Africa, the Middle East and Asia to share UK experience and improve aviation security. Their views, along with information from other sources and advice from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, enable the department to establish a view of risk and consequently to provide appropriate advice to UK air carriers on security measures at the foreign airports that they operate to.

Armed Forces: Afghanistan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many projects currently supported by the Ministry of Defence in Afghanistan will qualify or be proposed for funding from the Department for International Development after 2014; and whether new defence projects such as the officers' academy will qualify for Department for International Development funding.

Baroness Northover: There are no plans to transfer existing Ministry of Defence (MoD) projects to the Department for International Development ownership. MoD funding arrangements for the Officer Academy are still to be confirmed but we expect these to be discussed as part of next year's Comprehensive Spending Review.

Arms Trade Treaty

The Lord Bishop of Wakefield: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to build international support for the draft text of an arms trade treaty following negotiations at the United Nations in July 2012.

Baroness Warsi: The UK played a leading role in securing a resolution at the UN 1st Committee last month. The resolution calls for the convening of a diplomatic conference from 18-28 March 2013 to finalise work on the treaty. An overwhelming majority of states (157) voted for the resolution, including the US, China and India, with only 18 countries abstaining and none voting against.
	We have begun to discuss the draft text from the July conference with stakeholders in the non-governmental organisations community, industry and key allies. With a clear set of priorities established, we will then work intensively to build the necessary consensus around them in advance of the March conference.

Arts: Funding

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of central funding for the arts in the financial years 2011-12 and 2012-13 was (1) for capital programmes, and (2) for revenue support.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is unable to provide details of potential funding provided for the arts across all of government, as this information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, the funding DCMS provided to Arts Council England (ACE) in the financial years 2011-12 and 2012-13 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  Capital Programmes and % of total funding Revenue Support and % of total funding Total 
			 2011-12 (outturn) £13.032m (3%) £376.669m (97%) £389.701m 
			 2012-13 (budget) £21.271m (6%) £346.408m (94%) £367.679m 
		
	
	These figures exclude funding from the Department for Education for cultural education programmes, museums capital and revenue funding and restructuring costs in 2012-13. Revenue support includes administration costs.
	In addition to the funding provided to ACE, DCMS provided the following funding to support the arts.
	
		
			  Capital Programmes and % of total funding Revenue Support and % of total funding Total 
			 2011-12 (outturn) £0.761m (35%) £1.437m (65%) £2.198m 
			 2012-13 (budget) £0m £1.025m (100%) £1.025m

Asylum Seekers

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum applications had been outstanding for more than 12 months in each year from 2008 to 2011; and how many have currently been outstanding for more than 12 months.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The numbers of asylum applications made between 2008 and 2011 that had been outstanding for more than 12 months before an initial decision, by year, are shown in the attached table. The applications referred to in the data are not necessarily still outstanding.
	
		
			 Asylum applications made 2008 to 7 May 2011 from main applicants outstanding for more than 12 months 
			 Year in which application made Number of applications outstanding for more than 12 months Total main applicants 
			 2008 5,101 25,932 
			 2009 2,772 24,487 
			 2010 526 17,916 
			 1 Jan to 7 May 2011 295 6,722 
		
	
	Notes: Information on the length of time cases have been outstanding has to be derived from existing data on the systems as follows:
	1. The asylum applications made 2008 to 7 May 2011 by main applicants outstanding for more than 12 months have been derived from data published as National Statistics in Table as.06. They have been derived by taking the number of applicants who applied that year and then checking whether they had an initial decision within 365 days of their application. If they did not have an initial decision at this point, we considered their application as outstanding. The 2011 data relate only to applications between January and 7 May 2011 as the previously published data were extracted from CID on 7 May 2012, so applications after this point would all have been outstanding for less than a year.
	Data from 2011 onwards are provisional figures.
	Source: Table as.06 (extracted 7 May 2012) - Immigration Statistics July - September 2012
	These figures are a subset of published data on the outcome analysis of asylum applications, based on the year of application in the release "Immigration Statistics, July to September 2012", which is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office science website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q3-2012/
	The number of asylum applications currently outstanding for more than 12 months is 2,135. This figure is a subset of published data in the above publication and has been derived by looking at asylum claims that were pending an initial decision on the 30th September 2012, as published in Table as.01.q, and calculating for how many the application date was prior to 30th September 2011.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what methods they are using to improve the quality of first decisions in asylum applications by women.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The UK Border Agency is committed to improving the management of asylum claims from women and this includes improving the quality of decisions in these cases. In October 2010 the agency published revised guidance to decision-makers on gender-based claims and, recently, the agency has implemented a programme of mandatory training on gender issues to those decision-makers.
	Both guidance and training were developed in conjunction with corporate partners, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Asylum Aid. The agency has also carried out a thematic review of decisions in gender-based cases and is using the outcomes from the review to plan further improvements, working with corporate partners to do this. In addition, the agency has embarked on a major review of the way in which information and advice is provided to asylum applicants throughout the process. This includes specifically looking at the journey of women through the process.
	The agency continues to measure quality by auditing 10% of first-instance asylum decisions but it is in the process of developing its "next generation" quality framework, which will broaden the scope of what is measured to ensure compliance across the system.

Bank of England

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce a nominal gross domestic product target for the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England.

Lord Sassoon: The Chancellor set the Monetary Policy Committee its remit, at Budget 2012, to target inflation of 2%, as measured by the 12-month increase in the consumer prices index. The Government have no plans to change the inflation targeting framework.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether retail deposits with a bank within the proposed regulatory ring-fence will continue to be subject to a maximum limit on claims under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Lord Sassoon: The Financial Services Compensation Scheme will continue to provide protection for up to £85,000 per depositor, per authorised institution.
	The level of protection is set out in the EU Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive, which sets a maximum harmonised limit of €100,000. In line with this, the UK limit is £85,000.

Banking: European Central Bank

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact on the United Kingdom banking industry of the establishment of a new supervisory role for the European Central Bank over large banks in the eurozone.

Lord Sassoon: The Prime Minister's Statement to the House of Commons on 17 December 20121 on the outcome of the December European Council and the Government's Explanatory Memorandum on European Union Documents No. 13682/12, 13683/12 and 12854/12, on the Commission's proposal for a Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), set out the following key points:
	the current allocation of competencies between home and host supervisor and the member state of the banking group would not change;in terms of its regulatory impact, the new supervisory structure may result in additional costs for entities which have operations in participating member states-such as complying with additional requests for information from the European Central Bank (ECB), as well as relevant national competent authorities. However, these costs are anticipated to be small, relative to the benefits to be derived from the establishment of the SSM, in terms of strengthened supervision within the eurozone; andin terms of its financial impact, credit institution subsidiaries of UK firms established in participating member states would fund the new supervisory function of the ECB through payment of a levy. At least some of the cost could be offset by a reduction in the levy charged to finance national regulators.
	1 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121217/debtext/121217-0001.htm#1212174000003

Banking: European Central Bank

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether United Kingdom banks will be free to opt to be regulated by the European Central Bank (ECB) rather than the Bank of England or its Prudential Regulatory Authority; and whether they have considered the implications for the competitiveness of United Kingdom banks if the ECB sets lower requirements for capital and liquidity.

Lord Newby: United Kingdom banks will not be free to opt to be regulated by the European Central Bank (ECB) rather than the Bank of England or its Prudential Regulatory Authority. The Government have taken into consideration the implications for the competitiveness of the United Kingdom banks and will keep the position under review.

Banks: Iceland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been repaid to the United Kingdom by or in respect of each of the failed Icelandic banks; how much is still owed by each bank; and what steps they are taking to ensure repayment.

Lord Sassoon: The Government expect full recovery of the amount that Iceland is liable for, regarding failed banks. Information on payments in respect of Icelandic banks can be found in Sections 30, 31 and 33 of the Treasury annual reports and accounts 2011-121.
	During 2011-12, the administrator for Icesave paid out dividends to HM Treasury and the FSCS of £1.3 billion. Of this, £0.4 billion was used by the Financial Service Compensation Scheme to repay part of the loan with HM Treasury, £0.7 billion was allocated to the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund share of the loan and the remaining £0.2 billion was used to reimburse HM Treasury for its statutory debt payments for deposit balances in excess of £50,000.
	Negotiations with Iceland over the terms of a loan agreement in respect of the compensation paid to UK depositors of Icesave, the UK branch of Landsbanki hf, are ongoing. Progress is currently suspended pending the outcome of proceedings by the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Surveillance Authority against Iceland in the EFTA Court in respect of Iceland's alleged failure to meet its legal obligations to UK and Dutch depositors under the EU deposit guarantee directive.
	1 www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/hmt_annual_report_2012.pdf

Banks: Lending

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what rate of interest is paid by banks for funds under the funding for loans scheme; and to what extent interest rate reductions have been passed on to consumers through lower interest rates.

Lord Sassoon: The amount that banks participating in the Funding for Lending Scheme can borrow from the Bank of England and the fee they pay for it are linked to their lending performance to UK households and businesses. Banks that maintain or increase their net lending pay a fee of 0.25% per year. Banks that decrease lending pay an additional 0.25% for each percentage point reduction in net lending, up to a maximum of 1.5%, in the case where lending falls by more than 5%.
	It is still too early to judge the impact of the scheme on lending rates. However, mortgage rates quoted by banks have reduced by up to 0.4 percentage points since June 2012.

Benefits

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government which Department for Work and Pensions benefit centres handle appeals against decisions to place recipients of the employment and support allowance in the work-related activity group, and related matters; and, in each case, (1) how many appeals are outstanding, and (2) how long they expect to take to deal with the current backlog.

Lord Freud: There are currently 39 centres handling employment and support allowance appeals within the network of benefit centres.
	The work position is managed across the network and therefore the individual position of benefit centres can be misleading as the work can be moved to sites with more capacity.
	Additional resource has recently been moved into the benefit centre network to assist with the high volumes of appeals that have been received and it is currently expected that work volumes outstanding will return to normal levels by the end of July 2013 on a national basis.
	This position is constantly being reviewed with an aim to reducing the outstanding work at the earliest opportunity.

Benefits

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children under 16 live in households with working and non-working parents respectively who will be affected by the proposed 1% cap in benefit increases.

Lord Freud: Assessments of impacts will accompany the uprating order for 2013 and the forthcoming uprating Bill.

Benefits

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 17 December (WA 270), why the information on the European Union nationality of recipients of child benefits is not available; how they assess and record a claimant's status as ordinarily resident and having a right to reside in the United Kingdom; and whether such details can be accumulated and extrapolated.

Lord Deighton: Nationality is not a condition of entitlement to child benefit, so it is not recorded or retained in the relevant computer system.
	The factors which HMRC take into account when it assesses whether a claimant is ordinarily resident and has a right to reside in the United Kingdom are summarised in public guidance which is published on the departmental website1.
	The criteria for being ordinarily resident in the UK to receive child benefit are to:
	have the main home in the UK;have chosen to live and settle here; andonly go abroad for short periods, for example, on holiday.
	The criteria for having the right to reside in the UK to receive child benefit are for a person to be:
	a UK national;
	from the Channel Islands;
	from the Isle of Man; or
	from the Republic of Ireland.
	More detailed information about ordinary residence and the right to reside is contained in the HMRC Child Benefit Technical Manual, which is also published on HMRC's website2.
	However, details of ordinary residence and the right to reside in individual cases are not retained in a format that can be accumulated and extrapolated.
	1 http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/childbenefit/start/who-qualifies/ new-arrivals-uk.htm
	2 http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/cbtmanual/CBTM10020.htm and http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/cbtmanual/CBTM10070.htm

Benefits

Baroness Sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average time taken to process applications for disability living allowance; whether there is a target time within which those applications should be processed; and, if so, what proportion of applications meet that target.

Lord Freud: The latest Average Actual Clearance Time for processing DLA claims is 28.4 days at November year to date (April to November 2012). However, there is no set target for this measure.
	When reporting clearance times, the department uses a timeband measure of 79% of claims cleared in 40 days. Against this target we are currently reporting 79.3% in the month for November and 76.8% year to date (April to November 2012).

Burma

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Burma regarding the allegations of rape of women by Burmese military forces in Rohingya.

Baroness Warsi: We have received many reports of human rights abuses in Rakhine State since the outbreak of violence in June, including reports that allege the involvement of government security forces in the rape of Rohingya women and girls.
	During his recent visit to Burma, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), raised our concerns with the Burmese Foreign Minister, U Wunna Maung Lwin, and requested support for the Foreign Secretary's preventing sexual violence initiative. During his visit to Rakhine State, Mr Swire met local government officials and delivered strong messages on human rights including on ensuring that those accused of human rights abuses are held to account.
	The publication of the report by the investigative commission that was set up to probe the causes of the violence in Rakhine State has been delayed so that the commission can incorporate its findings on the violence of late October. It will be important for investigations into alleged atrocities, including rape, to be transparent and thorough, ensuring that those who have committed crimes are held to account for their actions.

Burma

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Government of Bangladesh regarding provision of assistance to Rohingyan refugees.

Baroness Warsi: The Government raise regularly the issue of Rohingya refugees and the importance of continuing humanitarian aid with the Government of Bangladesh. Our high commissioner in Dhaka raised the issue on 11 November with senior interlocutors in the Bangladesh Government and wrote on the issue to the Bangladesh Prime Minister's office on 15 August. Officials from our high commission have previously visited the camps for displaced Rohingyas. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised this issue during a meeting with the Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, on 28 July and the then Secretary of State for the Department for International Development (DfID), my right honourable friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), raised it in a meeting with the Prime Minister on 12 August. I also discussed our concerns with Dipu Moni, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, earlier this month.
	We have also raised the issue of Rohingya refugees with the Government of Bangladesh as part of a recent EU demarche. DfID continues to provide core contributions to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department and UN agencies that directly support the Rohingya community. In October DfID allocated £2 million in humanitarian funding to communities affected by the unrest in Rakhine.
	We also continue to seek every opportunity to raise our concerns about the treatment of the Rohingya directly with the Burmese Government not only in Burma but also in international fora such as the UN in New York, the EU and at the recent Asia-Europe summit in Laos.
	The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), visited Burma from 12-15 December. In meetings with the Burmese Government, both at national and local level, he pressed for increased humanitarian aid access to all communities in need, for those responsible for the violence to be brought to account, and for a long-term solution to the issues affecting the Rohingya. He visited Rakhine State to see for himself the situation on the ground, speaking to victims of the violence in three camps for internally displaced people and to local political and religious leaders.

Burma

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the most recent violence in Arakan State in Burma.

Baroness Warsi: The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), visited Burma, including Rakhine State, between 12 and 15 December. He was able to see conditions in five camps and settlements for internally displaced persons in Rakhine, including camps at Myebon and Pauktaw.
	Our assessment is that the violence in Rakhine State has been driven primarily by decades-long inter-communal tensions between communities in western Burma. The estimate from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs on 12 December was that 115,000 people have been displaced by violence during 2012; 36,000 of these from the incidents in October. An unverified number of people have been killed, with official figures from the Burmese Government in the region of 80 people, but it is not possible to confirm numbers precisely. The majority of killed and displaced were from the Rohingya community, though the Rakhine community has also been affected. Efforts to establish dialogue between community leaders have so far met with little success.
	In meetings with the Burmese Government, both at national and local level, Hugo Swire pressed for increased humanitarian aid access to all communities in need, for those responsible for the violence to be brought to account, including where security forces had been implicated, and for a long-term solution to the issues affecting the Rohingya to include consideration of the issue of citizenship.

Burma

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Burma regarding the ongoing violence in Rakhine/Arakan State.

Baroness Warsi: From 12 to 15 December the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), visited Burma. In meetings with the Burmese Government, both at a national level and in Rakhine State itself, he pressed for increased humanitarian aid access to all communities in need, for those responsible for the violence to be brought to account, including where security forces had been implicated, and for a long-term solution to the issues affecting the Rohingya to include consideration of the issue of citizenship.
	The UK remains one of the most vocal members of the international community on the issues in Rakhine State. We continue to seek every opportunity to raise our concerns directly with the Burmese Government not only in Burma-including during the visits of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and the Prime Minister, my right honourable friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), earlier this year-but also through international fora such as the UN in New York, the EU and at the Asia-Europe summit in Laos.

Burma

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for an International Peace Mission to Burma.

Baroness Warsi: The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), visited Rakhine on 14 and 15 December, where he met communities affected by the violence and urged the Burmese authorities to ensure both security and humanitarian access across Rakhine State. The Burmese Government have, to date, allowed 19 separate visits by independent observers from foreign Governments and international organisations to visit the areas affected by the violence. Officials from our embassy, including our ambassador, led the first independent diplomatic mission to Rakhine State in early October, and visited again in early November.
	Given the levels of international access to the area, and the Burmese Government's establishment of an investigative commission to look into the events in Rakhine State, the British Government will await the Commission's recommendations, and will work with the Burmese authorities accordingly. We judge that to call for an International Peace Mission at this time would pre-empt the Burmese Government's own commission.

Burma

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for the establishment of a United Nations Commission of Enquiry in Burma to consider the ongoing violence in Rakhine/Arakan State; and whether they have taken steps to promote the establishment of such a body.

Baroness Warsi: During his recent visit to Rakhine State the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), discussed in detail the drivers of the recent violence in Rakhine State with the Burmese authorities and leaders of affected Rohingya and Rakhine communities. In the course of his visit the Minister welcomed the formation of an independent investigative commission by the Burmese Government into the causes of the violence. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), also made clear that, for the commission to be credible, it needed to involve a consultative process with all the affected communities, including the Rohingya, and that any investigations into alleged atrocities should be transparent and thorough, ensuring that those who have committed crimes are held to account for their actions. We are awaiting the initial findings of the Commission's report, due in March 2013.
	In a statement on 17 November, the UN Secretary General welcomed the positive steps made by President Thein Sein, including the Burmese Government's intention to ensure that the perpetrators of violence are held to account. UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Baroness Amos, has recently returned from a visit to Rakhine State. The UN has not made the case for a commission of inquiry at this time. The UN is planning a roundtable discussion in Burma in early 2013, in order to address the issues in Rakhine State and the plight of the Rohingya community specifically. The UK will continue take an active role in this discussion and any further UN initiatives.

Burma

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian needs of those displaced by conflict in Kachin State, Burma.

Baroness Northover: I refer the noble Baroness to the Answer that my honourable friend the Minister of State, Alan Duncan, gave to the honourable Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz) on 22 November (Official Report, col. 607W). Negotiations between the Burmese Government and Kachin representatives for full international access to areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Army have continued since then, but remain difficult.

Burma

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Burma about the cessation of conflict in Kachin State and ensuring humanitarian access to all internally displaced people.

Baroness Warsi: The Government are concerned by the ongoing conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burmese military. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), visited Burma from 12 to 15 December 2012. He raised the UK's concerns with the Burmese Minister of Defence, Lt General Wai Lwin, and Minister Aung Min, the lead government negotiator for the peace process. Mr Swire urged the Burmese Government to push for a ceasefire and begin constructive dialogue with the KIA. He also pressed the Burmese Government to ensure humanitarian access to all conflict-affected populations in Kachin State.
	The Department for International Development has allocated £3.5 million to support humanitarian needs in Kachin, helping to meet the needs of internally displaced people, primarily in border camps not controlled by the Government. The aid will help meet their food security, shelter, water, sanitation, health and bedding needs.

Burma

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider funding established local non-governmental organisations to provide aid to areas in Shan, Kachin, and Rakhine states in Burma which international non-governmental organisations cannot reach due to government restrictions.

Baroness Northover: The Department for International Development (DfID) selects delivery partners on a case-by-case basis according to whom we judge is best able to deliver what is required. The additional support for Kachin, agreed this month by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State, will be implemented by an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), Trocaire, working closely with a local organisation, Karuna Myanmar Social Services (KMSS). In Rakhine State, DfID's humanitarian assistance will be delivered by a consortium of international NGOs, but we will continue to monitor the situation, in case opportunities to work with local NGOs arise. DfID also supports the Shan Women's Action Network who work in Thailand to support the needs of people displaced by conflict in Shan State.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government what approach they have taken to help local councils tackle the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning when using Warm Homes Healthy People funding.

Earl Howe: The Cold Weather Plan for England 2012, published on 26 October 2012, recognises that carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a potential killer and urges individuals to consider fitting an audible CO alarm that is EN 50291-compliant, but that fitting an alarm should not replace regular maintenance of appliances.
	The Warm Homes Healthy People 2012 fund supports the Cold Weather Plan, and local authorities were invited to submit innovative proposals to make homes warmer and reduce levels of death and morbidity. Installation of CO monitors is in line with the aims of the Cold Weather Plan in helping to protect vulnerable people during the coming winter.
	Information on the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in vulnerable households by local authorities has not been routinely collected as part of the Warm Homes Healthy People £20 million funding for 2012-13. However, an analysis of the successful proposals shows that at least 14 local authority proposals (covering 16 local authorities) have included the installation of carbon monoxide detectors as part of their projects. We know that there were some other local authorities that included CO monitors as an element of their wider proposals.
	The department has also awarded national grants to the value of £1.5 million to Age UK and the Foundations Independent Living Trust to complement the work carried out by local authorities.
	As part of the Age UK proposals, local and national handyperson services will check if households have a working carbon monoxide detector and, where needed, will install a new one, with the aim of a rollout of the installation of free CO detectors nationwide.

Children: Data Sharing

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hill of Oareford on 23 July (WA 92-3), what was the outcome of the working group dealing with information regarding children; and what action they plan to take in response.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The work of the information-sharing group is now complete. The focus of the work has been on information sharing between early years practitioners (for example, staff in children's centres or nurseries) and health professionals. The group's discussions and scrutiny covered the use of both information sharing of population data (such as new birth data) and individual data about a particular child or their family.
	We expect the final report of the group, entitled "Information sharing in the Foundation Years", to be submitted to Ministers at both the Department for Education and the Department of Health shortly.

Dentistry: Dental Hygienists

Lord Lea of Crondall: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they plan to take on patients' access to dental hygienists following the recommendations of the Office of Fair Trading report on dentistry published in May 2012.

Earl Howe: Access to dental care professionals (DCPs), including dental hygienists, is a matter for the General Dental Council (GDC). Following the publication of the Office of Fair Treading report on dentistry, the GDC has initiated a review of direct access to DCPs. The review is expected to report in early 2013.

Drones

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of frequent drone flights on the civilian populations of parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and in particular on children.

Baroness Warsi: The UK operates remotely piloted aircraft systems in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan. The rules of engagement are the same as those for manned aircraft. Drone strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan are a matter for the states involved. We expect all states concerned to act in accordance with international law and take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties when conducting military operations.

Drugs

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the remarks on 13 December by the Deputy Prime Minister regarding drugs policy, whether they have any plans to amend their existing policy on illegal drugs.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: We are confident our ambitious approach to tackling drugs is the right one. Drug usage remains at one of the lowest level since records began and people going into treatment today are far more likely to free themselves from dependency than ever before.
	But we are not complacent. We are continually looking at new ways of reducing demand, restricting supply and promoting recovery. We will be considering the recommendations from the Home Affairs Select Committee's Drug Inquiry report and will respond in due course.

Drugs: Orphan Medicines

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that interim National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraisal processes for orphan medicines are appropriate, while NICE develops its permanent appraisal process for such medicines.

Earl Howe: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is working closely with stakeholders to prepare to take on its new responsibilities for assessing highly specialised technologies for people with rare conditions from 1 April 2013.
	As an independent organisation, it will be for NICE to ensure that it has appropriate procedures in place.

Economy

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of monetary policy on economic demand.

Lord Deighton: The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) macroeconomic policy tools, including bank rate and quantitative easing (QE), via the asset purchase facility (APE), are designed to affect the economy as a whole in order to meet the 2% inflation target over the medium term.
	The Bank of England has estimated that the first round of QE, between March 2009 and January 2010, raised spending and activity in the UK economy. Analysis set out in the Bank's December 2012 Quarterly Bulletin finds that the impact of the second round of asset purchases between October 2011 and May 2012 looks to have been similar to the first round in terms of its proportionate effect on broad money and the wider economy.
	The MPC stated, in the minutes of its meeting in November 2012, that "demand and output would have been significantly weaker" in the absence of asset purchases.

Economy

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the impact on finance costs for them and for business of the United Kingdom losing its AAA credit rating.

Lord Sassoon: The Government's actions, taken to reduce the deficit and rebuild the economy, have secured stability and positioned the UK as a relative safe haven. Interest rates are near historic lows, benefiting families, businesses and the tax payer. Returning the UK to sustainable, balanced economic growth is the Government's overriding priority.

Economy: Cost of Living

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to reduce the cost of living.

Lord Newby: The Government continue to take steps to support households.
	The personal allowance will increase further to £9,440 in April 2013 to support hard-working individuals. This cash increase of £1,335 in 2013-14 is the largest ever. The 3p fuel duty increase planned for January 2013 has been cancelled. The Government have also announced a third council tax freeze.

Education: English Language

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to improve English language teaching for immigrants.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Where English language training is publicly funded through further education colleges and training providers, they are responsible for the quality of their provision. They are held to account for the quality of teaching and the outcomes of this provision by the Skills Funding Agency and Ofsted. Government and Ofsted have placed a new emphasis on the importance of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in further education and skills provision. When provision is identified as inadequate, there are now clear intervention procedures. The Government fund through partner agencies quality improvement support for the sector, which includes support to improve the quality of English provision for adults.

Elections: Devolved Administrations

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps the Cabinet Office is taking to co-operate with the devolved Administrations in (1) Wales, (2) Scotland, and (3) Northern Ireland, to ensure that the maximum number of young people qualify to vote in each of those nations.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Government, politicians, political parties, electoral administrators and others in society all have a role to play in encouraging people to register to vote.
	The Government are committed to doing all they can to maximise registration, including among young people, and are looking to make it as easy and convenient as possible for people to register to vote as well as move to IER. This includes looking at the work done in Northern Ireland to get young people registered. We are also piloting different approaches across the country to encourage young people to register to vote.
	To maximise levels of voter registration among young people, the Government are piloting different approaches to encourage them to register to vote. This includes: holding 20 events in schools, running participatory sessions to inform attainers about the reasons to register to vote and encourage them to do so; making available an online registration event toolkit aimed at teachers and community leaders so that they can deliver their own events targeted at young people; and commissioning digital work so that young people who register can share this fact on Facebook, encouraging other young people in their social networks also to register. We are also running data-mining pilots which intend to assess whether data matching with data from other government departments and bodies such as the Student Loans Company can assist in getting more young people on to the register.

Elections: Voting Age

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will monitor the experience in lowering of the voting age to 16 in the Scottish referendum with a view to informing future decisions about lowering the voting age throughout the rest of the country.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The UK and Scottish Governments have agreed that the power to legislate for a referendum on Scotland's independence should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. As a result it will be for the Scottish Parliament to determine the franchise of the referendum-just as it is responsible for determining the franchise for any other referendum or election within its devolved competence.
	However, this sets no precedent for the franchise for the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament or local authorities, which remain the responsibility of the UK Government and Parliament.
	There is no consensus within government for lowering the voting age to 16 and we therefore have no current plans to do so.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 7 February 2011 (WA 12) regarding the number of cycles in which a risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) was reported as the reason for abandoning a cycle of licensed treatment, what consideration the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has given to the impact of (1) financial payment structures, (2) lack of appropriate cycle monitoring, and (3) competition due to the HFEA's publication of clinic success rates, on the incidence of OHSS and the under-reporting of complications.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government on what data directly held by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) the HFEA base their assertion that the single biggest risk of fertility treatment is multiple pregnancy; whether it is directly informed by data from the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health; what data is held by the HFEA regarding the frequency of late miscarriage, high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia in mothers; what efforts were made by the HFEA to ensure that any additional data relating to the risks associated with multiple pregnancy were made available to them; what other risks of fertility treatment are known to the HFEA; and what data is held by the HFEA regarding the frequency and severity of any other such risks.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Public Health, Anne Milton, on 19 June (Official Report, cols. 941-942W) regarding the activity of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in monitoring research on the safety of treatment techniques, the Written Statement by Earl Howe on 24 November 2010 (WS 101-2) and the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 9 July (WA 202-3), why the HFEA has not made an assessment of the figures described in the journal Human Fertility (volume 10, issue 3, pages 183-7).

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it reviewed its policies regarding egg, sperm and embryo donation in 2011, including donor compensation and benefits in kind, details of which can be found on the HFEA website at: www.hfea.gov.uk/5605.html.
	The HFEA has also advised that it has limited powers around ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and does not collect data about the overall incidence of OHSS or produce requirements around monitoring of patients. Clinics are, however, asked to report treatment cycles to the HFEA where a cycle has been abandoned due to there being a risk of the patient developing OHSS. Severe cases of OHSS are treated as incidents and the HFEA expects an incident report from a clinic whenever a clinic is made aware of a severe case of OHSS. The HFEA also asks to see a clinic's OHSS management protocols before a licence renewal inspection.
	The success rates that the HFEA publishes are designed to give patients information to enable them to decide on the best clinic for them, taking into account a number of factors including success rates.
	The HFEA has advised that its statement that the single biggest risk of fertility treatment is multiple pregnancy was based on the outcome of a series of discussions the Expert Group on Multiple Births after In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) had between the autumn of 2005 and October 2006. The HFEA set up an independent expert group in response to rising concerns about the incidence of multiple births after IVF/ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection). The group reviewed the available international and national data on multiple births after IVF/ICSI, health and psychosocial outcomes for twins and their families, and the experience with single embryo transfer gathered in some European countries. It made recommendations to the HFEA and other organisations that have a role to play in reducing the high incidence of multiple births after IVF. The work to reduce multiple births has been a collaborative effort with other professional organisations.
	Data held by the HFEA regarding the frequency of late miscarriage, following IVF/ICSI, are set out in the following tables:
	
		
			 Year Incidence of miscarriages Rate of miscarriages against all pregnancies % 
			 2006 1,346 12 
			 2007 1,594 13 
			 2008 1,763 13 
			 2009 1,978 13 
			 2010 1,963 12 
		
	
	
		
			 A count of the number of outcomes that listed both a live birth and a miscarriage. These are included in the previous totals. 
			 Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Outcomes 252 334 412 415 404 
		
	
	Note: These data concern cases where more than one gestational sac was reported, so reflects instances of a multiple pregnancy where both a miscarriage and a live birth occurred.
	The HFEA does not hold data on high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia in mothers. Other risks of fertility treatment are set out on the HFEA's website at: www.hfea.gov.uk/fertility-treatment-risks.html.
	These risks, along with the risk of multiple births, are considered through the HFEA's regulatory regime. The data that the HFEA holds on such risks vary depending on the particular risk.
	With regard to the information in Human Fertility, the HFEA has advised that it has nothing to add to the Answer I gave the noble Lord on 9 July 2012 (Official Report, cols. WA 202-3).

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) held discussions with Susan Bewley, Lin Foo and Peter Braude regarding concerns raised in their editorial for the British Medical Journal in January 2011; whether actions were proposed by the HFEA in response, and if so, what; and when any such discussions or actions took place.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the authority's horizon-scanning process is an early warning system that identifies new scientific and clinical developments that may impact on the field of assisted reproduction or embryo research. Horizon scanning allows the HFEA to consider the legal, ethical and scientific implications of any new technique that scientists or clinicians may wish to use in HFEA-licensed research or treatment. Research and developments are presented to the HFEA's Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee (SCAAC) in order for it to provide recommendations. The HFEA has also advised that Bewley et al (2011) was included in its summary of follow-up research for SCAAC. This can be found on the HFEA's website at: www.hfea.gov.uk/7089.html.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 20 July 2011 (WA 305-6), how many cybrid embryos have been generated with eggs from non-human species in total according to records held by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA); and how many other classes of "admixed human" embryos have been generated.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 20 July 2011 (WA 306) and by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 7 November 2002 (WA 145), whether they now collect data on how many human embryos have been (1) created, (2) frozen, (3) destroyed, (4) implanted, and (5) experimented upon, since the passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990; if so, what are those figures; and, if not, whether they will instruct the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to refine their collection of data so that it provides full disclosure under each of those categories.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has no further information to add to that provided in the Answer I gave the noble Lord about human admixed embryos on 20 July 2011 (Official Report, cols. WA 305-6).
	The HFEA has also advised that the data it holds in relation to human embryos that have been created, frozen, destroyed and implanted are set out in the following table. It does not hold data in relation to embryos experimented upon.
	The HFEA has an obligation to collect information as required by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. It is for the authority itself to determine what further information it considers appropriate to collect.
	
		
			 HFEA Human Embryo Data-Cycles from 1 August 1991 to 31 December 2011 
			  Embryos Frozen   Embryos Discarded  Implanted  
			 Embryos created Embryos stored for the patients use Embryos stored for donation Embryos stored for research Embryos reported on the Treatment form as being discarded Embryos reported on the Gamete Movement form as being removed from storage and discarded Embryos transferred Gestational sacs observed 
			 3,546,818 839,325 2,071 5,876 1,691,090 23,480 1,388,443 235,480 
		
	
	Source: Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

Energy: Biofuels

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of the value of adding a recycled biofuels category to the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation to recognise the position of biofuels made from locally sourced waste products.

Earl Attlee: The Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation already provides additional support to biofuels made from waste by awarding two renewable transport fuel certificates for each litre supplied. We are committed to reviewing the double-counting system in 2013.

Energy: Green Deal

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will extend the Green Deal and reduction of value added tax to include voltage optimisation.

Lord Sassoon: The Government have recently commissioned the independent Scientific Integrity Group to review evidence from industry and other sources on the efficacy of voltage optimisation as an energy efficiency measure. The views from this expert group will help with an assessment of the benefits of this technology and its potential for its inclusion within the standard assessment procedure and, in turn, the Green Deal.
	There are currently no plans to introduce a reduced rate of VAT for voltage optimisation.

Energy: Prices

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty's Government by how much energy prices have risen for the average family in the United Kingdom since 2010, (1) as an absolute amount and (2) as a percentage; and how much of that amount and percentage is due to environmental taxes.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: DECC publishes data on gas and electricity prices in its Quarterly Energy Prices publication in tables 2.2.3 and 2.3.3. Based on the latest available data from this, over the period 2010 to 2012, average gas (Great Britain) and standard electricity (UK) retail prices for the residential sector increased by:
	0.77p/kWh and 1.83p/kWh respectively (in current prices);
	21% and 14% respectively (in current prices); and
	15% and 9% respectively (in real terms).
	These changes are based on an assumed, fixed consumption of 18.000kWh per year for gas and 3.300kWh per year for electricity. They therefore do not take into account year-to-year differences in weather and improvements in energy efficiency, both of which help determine energy consumption.
	The only environmental tax (based on the definition used by HM Treasury1) that had an impact on residential energy prices over this period is the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) which adds a cost per unit of carbon emitted from electricity generation. The impact of the EU ETS on retail electricity prices is estimated to have fallen over the period, consistent with the fall in the price of EU allowances, and therefore is not estimated to have contributed to the rise in retail electricity prices since 2010. The majority of the rise in residential energy prices has been driven by rises in wholesale energy costs as a result of increases in fossil fuel prices on international markets and rising network costs as ageing infrastructure has been replaced.
	1 Available online at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_60_12.htm

Energy: Smart Meters

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what will happen to data stored in utility smart meters at the end of 13 months; and to whom that data will belong.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Smart metering equipment has the capability to store a minimum of' the past 15 months of half hourly consumption data on a rolling basis: once the meter's data storage is full, the oldest data will be overwritten with newer data. As the oldest data are overwritten, they will effectively be deleted and therefore not owned by anyone.
	A recently published consultation on implementing the provisions of the energy efficiency directive has proposed the option that smart meters actually store a minimum of 24 months of data.

EU: Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact on United Kingdom banking and bank regulation of fewer than five European Union member states remaining outside the banking union; and what measures exist to prevent mandatory supervision of United Kingdom banks by the European Banking Authority in that circumstance.

Lord Deighton: I refer to Lord Sassoon's Answer of 21 December 2012 (HL4170), which set out the Prime Minister's Statement to the House of Commons on 17 December 20121 regarding the outcome of the December European Council and the Commission's proposal for a single supervisory mechanism.
	There are no proposals to confer responsibility for supervising banks on the European Banking Authority.
	1 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa.cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121217/debtext/121217-0001.htm#1212174000003

EU: Competence

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 14 December (WA 262), what estimate they have made of the cost involved in the use of existing resources to compile the review of European Union competences.

Baroness Warsi: There has been no central estimation of the overall cost. Each department is responsible for allocating its own resources to meet its priorities, including delivering the reports on which it leads or to which it has an interest in contributing.

EU: Justice and Home Affairs Powers

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have not implemented the European Supervision Order set out in Council Framework Decision 2009/829/JHA.

Lord McNally: Under the terms of the Lisbon treaty, the Government are required to decide by 31 May 2014 whether we opt out of, or remain bound by, all those EU police and criminal justice measures adopted prior to the entry into force of the treaty, which includes this measure. As my right honourable friend the Home Secretary announced in the other place on 15 October 2012 (Official Report, col. 35), which I informed this House about through a Statement on the same day, this wider decision is still being considered and any implementation of this measure will await the outcome of that process.

EU: Prisoner Voting

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consulted the Governments of (1) Armenia, (2) Andorra, (3) Bulgaria, (4) Estonia, (5) Georgia, (6) Hungary, (7) Liechtenstein, and (8) Russia, about how to address the issue of prisoner voting with the European Court of Human Rights.

Lord McNally: The Government have not consulted these countries. We are aware of the different approaches to prisoner voting in these and other states, and these various approaches have formed part of the Government's wider consideration of this issue.

EU: Trade Agreements

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint on 14 December (WA 263), given that Singapore does not impose tariffs on imports, what benefits to British exporters the forthcoming European Union-Singapore fair trade agreement will bring.

Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint: Following the recent conclusion of negotiations, work is ongoing to assess the outcome. However, we do not yet have a full picture of what has been agreed (since the negotiations are conducted by the Commission on behalf of the member states) and the full benefits to UK business will only become clear when we see the full deal. What we do know is that there will be new opportunities for British businesses to bid for public procurement contracts in Singapore. The FTA grants EU bidders significantly more guaranteed opportunities in public tenders compared to any other country, including for the first time in many utilities sectors in which the EU has many leading suppliers.
	We also expect to see new opportunities in the services sector, where we expect Singapore to extend its market access commitments, to agree new regulatory disciplines in certain service sectors and to offer parity with other major trading partners in most service sectors, thus offering a more level playing field for UK suppliers.
	Additionally, Singapore has agreed to tackle technical barriers in key sectors such as cars, pharmaceuticals, electronics and renewable energy equipment. These rules will make it easier for goods produced and tested to European standards to be sold in Singapore without technical changes or additional testing.
	The FTA also includes a high level of intellectual property rights protection. This will, for example, offer better remuneration rights for certain creative activities.

European Commission

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to improve (1) the number of applications, and (2) the success rate, of British citizens competing for positions in the European Commission.

Baroness Warsi: The Government have taken steps to improve both the number of applications and the success rates of British citizens applying to the EU institutions, where UK experience and insight can add real value.
	This Government relaunched the European Fast Stream (EFS) in 2009 and included significant communications activity, led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), aimed at better publicising and improving the attractiveness of careers with the EU institutions to both graduates and professionals. This has resulted in a 30% increase in British applicants to the main EU graduate recruitment.
	The EFS prepares UK civil servants for the entry exams to the EU institutions, and includes tuition in relevant languages. The EFS also serves to create a cadre of EU expertise within the UK Civil Service. The UK's Permanent Representation to the EU (UK Rep) provides support for UK applicants, both inside and outside of the UK Civil Service, who are applying for posts within the institutions.
	The FCO is also engaged with the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) to encourage a greater number of UK applicants and improve the success rate among those applying for positions in the European Commission. Next year we will have the results of the 2012 graduate recruitment and a clearer picture of our success rate.
	This is a very long-term project. The UK still remains under-represented at the European Commission -representing only 4.7% of total staff according to the latest figures, while the UK accounts for 12.4% of the EU population. We continue to monitor and promote various career options, including opportunities for permanent and temporary staff, and seconded UK civil servants.

Falklands War Veterans

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Earl Howe on 17 December (Official Report, col. 1339), whether veterans whose hearing was damaged during the Falklands War are receiving priority treatment from the National Health Service.

Earl Howe: All veterans are entitled to priority treatment, subject to the clinical needs of others, for conditions relating to their time in service.
	When referring a veteran to secondary care for a condition that (in their clinical opinion) may be related to military service, general practitioners (GPs) are asked to make this clear in their referral-as long as the patient is happy with this. Secondary care clinicians are asked to prioritise all veterans (for conditions that they judge likely to be related to military service) over other patients with the same level of clinical need. Veterans are not given priority over patients with more urgent clinical needs.
	The importance of priority treatment for veterans, and how it should be applied, has been outlined to the National Health Service through a number of letters sent out over recent years from the department. These include correspondence sent from the chief executive of the NHS in 2007 to all senior management of the NHS, which was then reiterated by the Chief Medical Officer in a letter to all GPs in 2010. The earlier letter made a particular point of highlighting the needs of veterans with service-related noise-induced hearing loss. The priority treatment requirement has also been emphasised in past NHS Operating Framework documents.
	The department has ensured that senior managers and clinicians within the NHS are kept informed of the healthcare needs of the Armed Forces community, with a series of leaflets and correspondence being sent over recent years that clearly outline the guidelines in place around the treatment of service personnel, veterans and their families. Most recently, the department collaborated with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to create an e-learning package aimed at raising GPs' awareness of the needs of veterans, including priority treatment and the relevant health services available to them. This package is available for GPs to access through the RCGP's website.

Finance: Isle of Man and Channel Islands

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the steps taken by (1) the Isle of Man, (2) Jersey, and (3) Guernsey, to stop those islands and institutions operating from them from being used to support (a) money-laundering, (b) terrorist finance, and (c) tax evasion; and whether those islands have responded positively to all requests made of them by the Government in that connection.

Lord Deighton: The anti-money-laundering and counterterrorist financing regimes of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey (the Crown Dependencies) have been evaluated against the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards by the International Monetary Fund within the past four years, with all three territories achieving favourable assessments.
	In 2012, the UK facilitated the entry of the Crown Dependencies into MONEYVAL (which conducts self-assessment and mutual assessment exercises of the anti-money-laundering measures in place in Council of Europe member states, which are not members of the FATF)1. These dependencies are, therefore, now considered part of the global network of FATF regional bodies.
	The Government are fully committed to tackling offshore tax evasion. On 7 December 2012, the Government announced that they would be entering into an agreement with the Isle of Man to move to automatic information exchange. They also confirmed that they are in discussions with the other Crown Dependencies, Jersey and Guernsey, about enhanced information exchange as part of their common commitment to combat tax evasion. The reviews of the Crown Dependencies carried out by the Global Forum show that they meet international standards on tax transparency.
	1 http://www.fatf-gafi.org/pages/moneyval.html

Financial Services Authority

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the period that must elapse before senior regulators from the Financial Services Authority can join businesses which they have been responsible for regulating, or where they have regulated direct competitors of a prospective employer; and what current guidance is in effect.

Lord Newby: This matter is for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which is independent from government control. It has, therefore, been passed on to the FSA, which will reply directly by letter. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.

Fire and Rescue Service

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what resources they will make available to Sir Ken Knight to undertake his review of fire and rescue services.

Baroness Hanham: In undertaking his review, Sir Ken Knight will be supported by civil servants from the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Fire and Rescue Service

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they assess the level of protection offered by fire and rescue services.

Baroness Hanham: All fire and rescue authorities in England are required by the Fire and Rescue National Framework to have in place and maintain an integrated risk management plan, which identifies local need and sets out plans to tackle effectively both existing and potential risks to communities. The integrated risk management plan, which is subject to consultation with the local community, enables each fire and rescue authority to tailor the allocation of its resources to local circumstances-evaluating where risk is greatest and determining its policies and standards for prevention and intervention accordingly.

Food: Climate Change

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the effect of climate change on small-scale farming in the developing world and its implications for world food supply.

Baroness Northover: Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to climate change. They often inhabit marginal landscapes such as hillsides, arid lands and floodplains. They rely directly on climate-affected natural resources for their livelihoods. They have fewer assets to rely on, are less able to diversify their incomes and are more reliant on growing food staples that may be most adversely affected by climate change such as maize, rice and wheat.
	Climate modelling predictions are uncertain about future food production, given that some regions are likely to benefit while others are likely to be adversely affected and all projections are subject to significant uncertainty. Higher temperatures and changes in rainfall are predicted to reduce global harvests by 7% by 2050, and in some part of the world by as much as 20% by 2030.

Forced Marriage

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider holding a wider consultation with women's groups about their proposed forced marriage legislation.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: A public consultation on whether we should make forced marriage a criminal offence was held between December 2011 and March 2012. We received responses from a number of women's groups, which set out their views on whether forced marriage should become a criminal offence. We are currently developing the legislation, which will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.

Forced Marriage

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have considered upgrading the forced marriage protection order to a criminal offence as an alternative to introducing new legislation.

Lord McNally: The Government intend to make the breach of a forced marriage protection order a criminal offence. This is in addition to a new offence of forcing a person to marry against that person's will. We will bring forward legislation on both measures as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Gambia

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will propose that the Gambia be added to the list of countries under the scrutiny of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group.

Baroness Warsi: We regularly raise our concerns about human rights, good governance and democracy with the Gambian Government, and will continue to work with and through international partners and institutions, including the Commonwealth, to improve standards.
	However, the UK has no current plans to propose that the Gambia is added to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) agenda.

Gambia

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to legislate to remove the Gambia from the list of safe countries in Section 94(4) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: There are no current plans to remove the Gambia from the list of countries designated under Section 94(4) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.

Gambia

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to update the Country of Origin Information Report on the Gambia.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The UK Border Agency plans to publish an update of its Country of Origin Information report on the Gambia in the first half of 2013.

Gambia

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of the Gambia about the closure of independent newspapers and a radio station, the expulsion of a BBC journalist, and other attacks on freedom of expression in that country.

Baroness Warsi: Freedom of expression is an ongoing concern in the Gambia. The sudden closures of Taranga FM Radio Station in August and of the Daily News and the Standard newspapers in September are worrying developments. Our high commissioner in Banjul raised the respective closures with the Foreign Minister. However, we understand that the BBC correspondent was not expelled but following intervention by the high commission was granted a 48-hour visa which was not subsequently renewed.
	Support for freedom of expression and the protection of journalists is included in the EU human rights strategy for the Gambia. Our high commissioner in Banjul regularly raises human rights issues with the Gambian Government-when specific incidents occur and twice-yearly through formal discussions under Article 8 of the EU/ACP Cotonou agreement. The next discussions are due to be held in January.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the cost to United Kingdom public funds of the United Kingdom contribution to reconstruction in Gaza following Operation Pillar of Cloud.

Baroness Northover: The Minister of State for International Development, the right honourable Alan Duncan MP, recently announced on his visit to Gaza that the UK will provide £1.25 million to the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross in protecting civilians and providing emergency services in Gaza and the West Bank. This will include helping at least 85,000 people inside Gaza who have been injured, had their homes destroyed or were otherwise affected by the recent conflict. The funding will provide temporary shelter and medical assistance, as well as help with rebuilding homes and delivering fuel to keep generators running.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Israel about their treatment of Gazan fishermen.

Baroness Warsi: The UK regularly makes representations at both ministerial and official level to the Israeli authorities on the urgent need to ease restrictions on Gaza, including fishing limits.
	In this regard, we welcome the newly introduced six nautical mile fishing limit. We have urged Israel to ease this restriction further, in line with the limit of 20 nautical miles stipulated in the Oslo accords.

Gibraltar

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Warsi on 10 December (WS 98), whether the assertion that "we will continue to take whatever action we consider necessary to protect British sovereignty and the interest of Gibraltar and its people" includes the use of military force.

Baroness Warsi: The Royal Navy challenges all unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters by Spanish state vessels by issuing appropriate warnings to the vessels concerned. The military therefore already has an important role in upholding the UK's sovereignty over those waters.
	We will continue to uphold our sovereignty against unlawful incursions with a range of proportionate naval, police and diplomatic responses.

Government Departments: Budgets

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to Table 2.2 and the statement about schools in paragraph 1.32 of the Autumn Statement 2012 (Cm 8480), which areas of the Department for Education budget will be reduced and by how much between 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The Chancellor's Autumn Statement applied a percentage reduction to the department's unprotected resource budget (RDEL) over the next two years. The reduction will be 1% (£153 million) in 2013-14 and 2% (£306 million) in 2014-15.
	The department will be working out the exact detail of how it meets these reductions over the coming months as it goes through its annual business planning process to set budgets for the next year.
	Front-line funding for schools will continue to be protected in line with the policy set out at Spending Review 2010. In addition the Government are providing an extra £1 billion of capital funding to build new free schools and academies and expand existing good schools in those areas with the most pressure on pupil places.

Government Departments: Legislation

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance in the preparation of Private Members' Bills was provided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in (1) the 2010-12 Session, and (2) this Session.

Lord De Mauley: Core Defra officials provided some assistance in the preparation of the Scrap Metal Dealers Bill introduced this Session, which has completed its passage through the House of Commons and is currently awaiting Lords Committee stage. This included discussing the role of the Environment Agency in the regime for registering scrap metal dealers proposed under the Bill, advising on the potential interface with environmental legislation and reviewing and commenting on draft instructions to Parliamentary Counsel.

Government Departments: Publications

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many copies of (1) Who's Who, (2) Dod's Parliamentary Companion, (3) Dod's Guide to the General Election 2010, and (4) Whitaker's Almanac, were purchased by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, broken down by directorate in each of the past two years for which figures are available.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many copies of (1) Who's Who, (2) Dod's Parliamentary Companion, (3) Dod's Guide to the General Election 2010, and (4) Whitaker's Almanack, were purchased by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for use by Ministers in that department in each of the past two years for which figures are available.

Lord De Mauley: Core Defra has purchased the following numbers of hard copies of each publication since April 2010. A breakdown by year cannot be provided.
	Who's Who-one copy; Dod's Parliamentary Companion-seven copies; andWhitaker's Almanack-one copy.
	Of these, five copies of Dod's Parliamentary Companion were purchased directly by Minister's Private Offices.
	Dod's Guide to the General Election was published only in 2010 and provided free alongside purchased copies of Dod's Parliamentary Companion.

Government Departments: Publications

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they issue guidance about the use of acronyms and jargon in Government publications.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Cabinet Office does not provide such guidance, nor do we keep records of whether other departments or agencies do so.

Government Departments: Publications

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make it their policy to publish as an annex to the annual report produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) a list of all publications published by Defra in the preceding year.

Lord De Mauley: HM Treasury's Financial Reporting Manual sets out requirements for the format and content of the department's annual report and accounts. There is no requirement and therefore no plan to include a list of publications. This information is however publicly available on the Defra website http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 14 March (WA 73), when they now expect the findings of the review of Promoting Equality, Valuing Diversity-A Strategy for the Civil Service 2008-13 to be made public.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: A date has not yet been set but publication will follow that of the Civil Service's Capabilities Plan.

Government: Ministerial Guidance

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint continues to advise the Chancellor of Exchequer on banking matters.

Lord Deighton: Treasury Ministers liaise closely with counterparts in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills on various banking and business matters.

Guernsey Financial Services Commission

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to pursue the Guernsey Financial Services Commission to make good losses suffered by UK investors in the CF Arch Cru Funds; what is their assessment of the level of investor protection provided by the Commission in comparison to that available in the United Kingdom; and whether they will place restrictions on the marketing in the United Kingdom of banking and financial services by firms and individuals based in Guernsey on the basis of that assessment.

Lord Sassoon: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is responsible for the regulation of financial services firms under the powers in the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2000. HM Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services.
	The CF Arch Cru matter is complex, involving a number of entities, some regulated by the FSA and some regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC). UK investors have suffered considerable losses through their holdings of two UK open-ended investment companies, the CF Arch Cru funds. These funds were invested in certain Guernsey-domiciled companies (the Guernsey cells), listed on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange. These were closed-ended schemes authorised by the GFSC and were not authorised or recognised collective investment schemes in the UK.
	The UK Government have no power to pursue Guernsey for redress. However, the FSA is working with the Guernsey authorities regarding these matters. In addition to assisting the FSA, the GFSC is conducting its own investigations relating to those entities within its regulatory scope.
	Under Section 270(5) of FSMA 2000 and Statutory Instrument 2003/1181, the FSA provided HM Treasury with an assessment of the authorisation and supervision of collective investment schemes in Guernsey. A comparison of protections will depend on specific protections available to investors and will vary according to the nature of the investment.
	Collective investment schemes which fall outside the designated criteria are restricted in their promotion to UK investors, including under Section 238 of FSMA 2000. The Guernsey cells were subject to such restrictions as they were not authorised or recognised by the FSA.

Gypsies and Travellers

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to ensure that wherever reference is made to the ethnicity of patients throughout the NHS, the 2011 Census ethnic group classification, which includes "Gypsy or Irish Traveller", is used.

Earl Howe: In order to support consistency with other data systems within the National Health Service, ethnicity data for NHS patients are currently collected utilising the 2001 codes. The department, in collaboration with other bodies, will shortly produce guidance that advises on the codes for data collection, including those for ethnicity. The guidance will initially recommend that organisations continue to use the 2001 codes; however this will be revisited biannually with decisions to change this advice based upon the breadth of utilisation of the new coding system.
	NHS organisations can choose to use either the 2001 or the 2011 categories. If they use the 2011 categories, they will need to re-aggregate anyone coming under the "Gypsy and Irish Traveller" heading into "Other" in order to make national comparisons. Additional codes can be included as appropriate at a local level to reflect the demographic make-up of the local population. This allows local monitoring to take place in a way that supports service planning, decision-making, and key processes such as the Joint Strategic Needs Assessments.

Gypsies and Travellers

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the health needs of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities are covered in NHS Joint Strategic Needs Assessments, Health and Well-being Strategies and the agendas of Health and Well-being Boards.

Earl Howe: Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) and Joint Health and Well-being Strategies (JHWSs) are local strategic planning processes, undertaken through health and well-being boards. They will be the means by which the current and future health and well-being needs of the local population will be determined, and this will then be used to plan local services on the basis of the identified needs. JSNAs must therefore be inclusive of the health and care needs of the whole local population, including Gypsy and Traveller and Roma communities. It would not be appropriate for the department to highlight any care group or area of need over another as this would risk undermining the purpose of JSNAs and JHWSs as being an objective, comprehensive and-most importantly-a locally owned process of developing evidence-based priorities for commissioning. As public authorities, health and well-being boards will need to comply with public sector equality duties, not just in how they engage the local community in the development of JSNAs and JHWSs but also in considering the needs of groups with protected characteristics.
	We are addressing the health needs of those people most vulnerable to poor health through the Inclusion Health programme, and the early focus of Inclusion Health includes Gypsies and Travellers. A number of representative bodies are working with us to support the National Inclusion Health Board and its working groups, which will work with the National Health Service, local government and others to identify what more must be done to include the needs of vulnerable groups in the commissioning of health and care services. We are supporting health and well-being boards to better understand the needs of vulnerable groups within their JSNAs and JHWSs; and Gypsy and Traveller bodies have contributed to supportive material we are producing.

Gypsies and Travellers

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord McNally on 16 July (WA 14), whether they are now in a position to publish information on the number and proportion relative to population of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller prisoners; and, if not, when this will be available.

Lord McNally: We are currently not in a position to be able to publish information on the number and proportion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller prisoners relative to the population.
	As mentioned previously in a Written Answer on 16 July (WA 14), following the addition of the new census 2011 ethnicity categories into the prison IT system, prisoners received into custody can now declare themselves as Gypsy or Irish Traveller. However, it is unlikely that existing prisoners (those already in custody prior to the new category being introduced) will have been given the opportunity to revise their previously stated ethnicity.
	Current data on the number of Gypsy or Irish Traveller prisoners are therefore likely to be an undercount of the true number of prisoners who would identify themselves as Gypsy or Irish Traveller. We are committed to moving all prisoners from the 2001 census codes to the 2011 codes; however, this will take some time. We will shortly (by April 2013 under current plans) be issuing guidance to all prisons on how to conduct a one-off exercise to move existing prisoners on to the new codes.
	We will monitor the use of the new code and publish the figures once the coverage and data quality are deemed sufficient to provide meaningful and accurate statistics. We currently have no estimate of when the data will be deemed fit for publication.

Health: Accident and Emergency Departments

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of constraints on NHS spending, how they will ensure patients in accident and emergency departments are treated promptly.

Earl Howe: The accident and emergency (A&E) waiting time standard states that 95% of patients should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of their arrival in the A&E department. This standard is included in the NHS Operating Framework for 2012-13. Furthermore, eight clinical quality indicators for A&E were introduced in April 2011 which measure other clinically important aspects of time.
	It is for local National Health Service trusts to ensure that there are strategies and procedures in place to cope with unexpected periods of increased pressure.

Health: Accident and Emergency Departments

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received concerning proposals to close the accident and emergency department at Lewisham Hospital.

Earl Howe: The trust special administrator appointed to South London Healthcare NHS Trust published his draft report on 29 October. This included a proposal for the accident and emergency department at Lewisham hospital to become a 24/7 urgent care service. The consultation on the draft report closed on 13 December. The trust special administrator is now considering the responses to the consultation as he prepares the final report. The trust special administrator must provide to the Secretary of State a final report stating the action the administrator recommends by 7 January. The Secretary of State will decide what action to take in relation to the trust by 1 February.
	The right honourable Dame Joan Ruddock DBE MP has asked two Written Questions in Parliament about accident and emergency services in London, following the publication of the trust special administrator's draft report. The right honourable Andy Burnham MP wrote to the Secretary of State on 9 December about the trust special administrator's work and draft recommendations. A search of the department's ministerial correspondence database has identified 50 items of correspondence about the proposals to close the accident and emergency department at Lewisham Hospital. This figure represents correspondence received by the department's Ministerial Correspondence Unit only. In addition, this issue was debated in the House of Commons on 28 November and 20 December.
	Ministers have had no meetings with outside parties about the proposal for the accident and emergency department at Lewisham hospital to become a 24/7 urgent care service.

Health: Accident and Emergency Departments

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have spent on the refurbishment of the accident and emergency department at Lewisham Hospital since 2005.

Earl Howe: This information is not held centrally. The following table shows the amounts in loans provided by the department to Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust during the three most recent financial years to fund the development of the integrated Urgent Care Centre at the University Hospital, Lewisham.
	
		
			 Date of loan Amount of loan 
			 15 December 2010 £6.974 million 
			 17 July 2011 £4.566 million 
			 16 July 2012 £302,000 
			 Total £11.842 million

Health: Ambulance Service

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to reduce the emergency response times of ambulance crews.

Earl Howe: National response time standards are in place to ensure an appropriate emergency response from ambulance service trusts. The national standards for ambulance services are:
	A8-75% of category A (immediately life-threatening) calls should receive a response within 8 minutes; andA19-95% of category A patients requiring transport should receive this within 19 minutes of the request for transport being made.
	In June 2012, category A8 was further split into red 1 (the most time-critical calls, eg cardiac arrest patients who are not breathing and do not have a pulse) and red 2 (serious but less immediately time critical, covering conditions such as stroke and fits). This was designed to reduce the inappropriate and/or multiple dispatch of resources by ambulance trusts and to allow a greater focus on the most serious incidents.
	Category C calls are those which are neither life-threatening nor serious. The setting and monitoring of category C call performance is locally determined.
	It is the responsibility of the National Health Service locally to ensure that ambulance trusts perform well. Performance on national response time standards is managed at strategic health authority level. Local commissioners must also hold ambulance trusts to account for local performance.

Health: Asbestos-related Disease

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information is required by coroners investigating asbestos-related deaths (1) in the hours following the death, (2) within seven days of the death, and (3) in the course of the inquest.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) guidance, and (2) training, specific to asbestos-related disease is provided to police officers who fulfil the duties of coroner offices in visiting recently bereaved families to investigate asbestos-related deaths.

Lord McNally: The Ministry of Justice has responsibility for coroner law and policy only. Coroners are solely responsible for the conduct of their investigations.
	The Ministry of Justice provides training for coroners and their officers. The 2012/13 syllabus includes a session on exposure to asbestos but does not include specific training on visiting recently bereaved families to investigate asbestos-related deaths.

Health: Atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received a recommendation from the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services regarding the commissioning of a national specialised service for atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS); and, if so, when they plan to make a decision based on that recommendation about whether or not a national specialised service for aHUS will be commissioned.

Earl Howe: Ministers have received a recommendation from the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services about the commissioning of a national specialised service for the treatment of atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome and expect to make an announcement early in the new year.

Health: Birth Defects

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the latest information they have regarding the high risk groups suffering neural tube defects at birth.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how the take-up of advice given on NHS websites in respect of prevention of spina bifida is currently monitored.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many births classed as spina bifida caused by neural tube defects there have been in each of the past five years.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to propose new advice or actions regarding women thought to be in the high risk groups with respect to potential neural tube birth defects.

Earl Howe: The department currently recommends that all women who are planning a pregnancy or who could become pregnant should take a daily supplement containing 400 micrograms of folic acid (the synthetic form of the vitamin folate) before conception and until the 12th week of pregnancy, as well as to increase their consumption of folate-rich foods, to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) such as spina bifida.
	The department recommends that women with an increased risk of having an NTD-affected pregnancy take a higher dose of folic acid (five milligrams/day), which can be prescribed by their general practitioner. Women at high risk of having an NTD-affected pregnancy include those who have previously had a baby with an NTD, those who have (or whose partner has) an NTD, those who are taking an anti-epileptic medication and those who have diabetes.
	The national Infant Feeding Survey, carried out every five years on behalf of United Kingdom health departments, collects information about dietary supplementation practices during pregnancy. Data from the most recent Infant Feeding Survey (2010) show that 94% of mothers reported taking folic acid either before or during their pregnancy. Before they were pregnant, 37% said they took folic acid, increasing to 79% who reported taking it during the first three months of pregnancy, while 23% took it later on in pregnancy.
	Data on the number of births classed as spina bifida are collected and published by the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers (BINOCAR). The information provided in the following table gives the numbers of live-born babies with spina bifida in the English registers for the years 2006 to 2010. These are the most recent years BINOCAR has complete data for. BINOCAR does not cover all of England and Wales; the registers included in the data cover approximately 35% of the births in England and Wales.
	
		
			 Year Number of cases of spina bifida* (live births) 
			 2006 31 
			 2007 28 
			 2008 41 
			 2009 41 
			 2010 54 
		
	
	Note: Spina bifida is only one form of NTD; if other congenital anomalies of the central nervous system (such as hydrocephalus or anencephaly) are included, these figures will be higher.
	The department provides women with information on health and nutrition pre-conception and during pregnancy, including the importance of taking folic acid supplements to reduce the risk of NTDs such as spina bifida, via all its relevant communications. This includes the pregnancy and baby guide on the NHS Choices website, materials produced as part of the Start4Life campaign, and the NHS Information Service for Parents, a new digital service for parents-to-be and new parents launched in May 2012. The Information Service for Parents sends parents regular free e-mails, videos and SMS messages with advice and information about pregnancy and the first few months with a baby. The service includes advice on folic acid and vitamin supplements, with a video for parents covering "Should I take supplements during my pregnancy?". To date over 89,000 parents-to-be and new parents have signed up to the service.
	The department was advised by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and the Food Standards Agency Board in 2007 on fortification options as a measure to reduce the risk of pregnancies being affected by neural tube defects (NTDs). Fortification of foodstuffs with folic acid is a complicated issue, with a balance of benefits as well as potential risks. Additional advice on folic acid and cancer risk was requested by the then Chief Medical Officer and provided by SACN in 2009. The papers underpinning the advice from SACN have not yet all been peer-reviewed and published in a scientific journal. Ministers need to very carefully consider this complicated issue and would like to see all information in the public domain before making any decision.

Health: Birth Defects

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what current Government-sponsored research is under way in respect of neural tube birth defects.

Earl Howe: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) biomedical research centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London Institute of Child Health is studying whether combined treatment with folic acid and inositol is more effective at preventing neural tube defects than folic acid alone. The researchers are leading a clinical trial of this treatment supported by the NIHR Clinical Research Network.
	The neural tube defect spina bifida may be associated with hydrocephalus in childhood. Hydrocephalus is commonly treated through insertion of a shunt to drain off the excess fluid, and new devices have been introduced to try to reduce shunt infection. The NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme is funding a £2 million trial comparing these new shunts to standard shunts.
	The NIHR is also funding a clinical lectureship focused on neurogenic bowel dysfunction associated with spina bifida and other neurological conditions.

Health: Bounty

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask Her Majesty's Government what payments have been made to Bounty by any department or vice versa in each of the past five years.

Lord Sassoon: The table below sets out the payments made by HM Revenue and Customs to Bounty.
	
		
			 Year Amount paid to Bounty £ Number of Child Benefit claim forms distributed 
			 2007-08 112,487.00 706,843 
			 2008-09 125,671.75 774,604 
			 2009-10 143,167.00 852,592 
			 2010-11 126,906.79 888,180 
			 2011-12 90,805.00 901,298 
		
	
	Information on payments that may have been made by other government departments is not held centrally.

Health: Bounty

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask Her Majesty's Government what payments have been made to Bounty by the Department of Health or vice versa in each of the past five years; and what agreements were in place between Bounty and the Department of Health regarding the contents of, or distribution of, Bounty packs to expectant or new mothers, for each of the past five years.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they hold regarding payments to NHS Hospital Trusts, primary care trusts or strategic health authorities by Bounty for the distribution of their packs to expectant or new mothers.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what conditions, restrictions or safety precautions apply to representatives of commercial companies entering maternity units for the purposes of data collection or providing commercial services such as photography to parents.

Earl Howe: Neither the department nor the National Health Service centrally has any contracts with Bounty. The distribution of Bounty packs is negotiated locally by Bounty with individual NHS and foundation trusts, and individual trusts are able to influence the contents of the packs delivered to their maternity services users. The department does not have information about the contracts that exist between Bounty and the NHS locally, as this is the responsibility of individual NHS authorities and is not collated centrally.
	Bounty occasionally promotes departmental public health messages free of charge, including messages on seasonal flu, encouraging pregnant women to have the flu jab, and encouraging women to sign up to the NHS Information Service for Parents. The department's messages are promoted on Bounty's website, in its membership area and in its "Thank you for registering with Bounty" e-mails sent to newly registered pregnant women. The NHS Information Service for Parents wallet cards with sign-up details are placed in Bounty's pregnancy and information pack for pregnant women free of charge.
	Levels of security provision are for NHS bodies to establish on a local basis, according to an assessment of the particular security risks they face. Each NHS body is responsible for providing the necessary resources to manage security.
	NHS Protect has national responsibility for leading work to protect NHS staff and resources from crime and provides support, guidance and advice to NHS bodies on assessing security risks and taking effective action.
	For areas such as maternity units where there are specific security risks, it is for each NHS body to determine who has access to these areas and to have protocols in place for supervising contractors and/or individuals while on their premises.

Health: Bounty

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether NHS trusts are placed under any restrictions regarding the distribution of materials from commercial companies or charities other than Bounty; and what approval has been given by any department for any such contracts.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of any (1) agreements, (2) correspondence and (3) details of meeting dates, between Bounty and the Department of Health since June 2010.

Earl Howe: The distribution of materials from commercial companies and charities is negotiated locally with individual National Health Service and/or foundation trusts, and as such the department is not involved in the approval process for any relevant contracts.
	The department does not have any written agreements with Bounty.
	There were 10 items of correspondence received from Bounty since 1 June 2010. Copies of the correspondence, together with department's replies, have been placed in the Library.
	Since June 2010 departmental officials have met with Bounty on five occasions; a further meeting is planned in 2013. The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Anne Milton) also met with Bounty in June 2011. The meetings covered a range of issues including Start4life, public health messages surrounding drinking, giving up smoking in pregnancy and opportunities to promote seasonal flu messages. Officials have also attended one of Bounty's health networks to brief it on Start4Life, the NHS Information Service for Parents and the Start4Life smoke-free midwives pack.

Health: Cardiology

The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the Independent Reconfiguration Panel to publish the findings of its review of the Safe and Sustainable proposals on children's congenital heart services; whether they issued any instructions about consulting Members of Parliament when requesting that review; and whether they plan to issue further instructions to ensure that interested Members of the House of Lords are able to contribute.

Earl Howe: Following referrals from three local Overview and Scrutiny Committees, and subsequent initial assessments of those referrals, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) is currently undertaking a full review of the proposals concerning Safe and Sustainable.
	The panel is now due to submit its advice to the Secretary of State no later than 28 March 2013. As is routine, the panel will publish its advice at the same time as the Secretary of State makes his decision public.
	No instructions were issued to the panel about consulting Members of Parliament and no further instructions will be issued. As an independent body, it is up to the panel to determine how to carry out its review.
	However, we are clear that anyone, including honourable Members and other elected or non-elected representatives can make their own representations and views known to the IRP on this important issue.
	This can be done by contacting the panel at info@irpanel.org.uk and in writing to IRP, 6th floor, 157-197 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SP.

Health: Consultancy Services

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much hospital trusts spent on outside consultants, by strategic health authority area, (1) in each of the past 12 months, and (2) in each of the past five years, for which figures are available.

Earl Howe: Information regarding expenditure on consultancy services by National Health Service trusts within strategic health authority (SHA) regions for the years 2007-08 to 2010-11 is in the following table.
	SHA spend in respect of the last 12 months in 2012-2013 will be available once the department's annual report and accounts are laid before Parliament in October 2013.
	NHS Direct NHS Trust does not fall under a specific SHA region; as such, figures for the organisation have been listed separately.
	
		
			 NHS Trust consultancy spend by SHA region 2007-08 £000s 2008-09 £000s 2009-10 £000s 2010-11 £000s 2011-12 £000s 
			 NHS Direct NHS Trust 3,627 7,279 4,955 1,308 2,730 
			 North East SHA 2,972 2,165 1,230 656 561 
			 North West SHA 13,301 12,862 7,460 8,443 14,079 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 5,570 6,604 5,720 5,566 7,844 
			 East Midlands SHA 8,349 8,256 12,960 10,822 13,772 
			 West Midlands SHA 17,088 17,631 15,658 12,818 17,005 
			 East of England SHA 10,003 9,403 9,822 7,781 7,325 
			 London SHA 37,588 49,204 52,179 44,871 55,548 
			 South East Coast SHA 13,884 16,355 13,193 10,064 12,411 
			 South Central SHA 13,407 11,716 11,826 9,099 8,811 
			 South West SHA 8,285 7,378 7,865 7,566 6,673 
		
	
	Source: 2007-08 to 2011-12 NHS Trusts Audited Summarisation Schedules
	The data are taken from the audited summarisation schedules of NHS trusts which are used to prepare the NHS elements of the department's annual report and accounts.

Health: Finance-related Ill-health

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the link between financial anxiety over debt and health problems; and what steps they are taking to improve debt advice services.

Earl Howe: The links between worklessness and mental ill-health are well established. The Foresight Report Mental Capital and Wellbeing, published by the Government Office of Science, highlighted the link between mental ill-health and social factors, particularly debt. A copy of the report is available at the following link: www.bis.gov.uk/foresight/our-work/projects/published-projects/mental-capital-and-wellbeing/reports-and-publications.
	Through provisions in the Financial Services Act, the Government have clarified the role of the Money Advice Service so that it is required to work with other organisations which provide debt services, with a view to improving the availability, quality and consistency in the services available, in the way in which they are provided and in the advice given.

Health: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase investment in innovation in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Earl Howe: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme is funding a systematic review of evidence on the benefits, harms and costs of treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The review began in May 2012 and is expected to report in mid-2014. In addition, the NIHR is funding two one-year biomedical research fellowships studying IPF.
	In addition, the department has asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to produce a clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of IPF. The draft guideline is due to be published for consultation from 11 January 2013 to 22 February 2013, with a view to final publication in June 2013.

Health: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the introduction of the value-based pricing system for treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Earl Howe: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is developing technology appraisal guidance on the use of pirfenidone (Esbriet) for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. NICE issued initial draft guidance for consultation on 29 November 2012 which does not recommend the drug and currently expects to issue final guidance in April 2013.
	The Government have set out their intention to introduce a system of value-based pricing (VBP) for branded medicines from January 2014. VBP will focus primarily on new medicines and it is not our intention to reassess under VBP the vast majority of treatments already appraised by NICE. Under our current plans, we intend to maintain the funding direction for NICE-recommended treatments and replicate its effect for medicines with a value-based price.

Health: Infection Control

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans are in place to appoint a new inspector of microbiology and infection control to advise the Government within the new NHS structures.

Earl Howe: The department plans to discuss with the NHS Commissioning Board and Public Health England how to cover the inspector of microbiology and infection control's functions in future.

Health: Infection Control

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans are in place to ensure that variations in the redeployment of specialist infection prevention and control commissioning nurses and teams will not pose risks to management of infection prevention and control.

Earl Howe: It is a matter for local determination to ensure that appropriate specialist infection prevention and control commissioning nurses and teams are in place to prevent and control infections.

Health: Miscarriage

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of women losing their babies due to mistaken diagnosis of miscarriage, and the subsequent advice to doctors from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

Earl Howe: It is important that women receive accurate diagnosis of miscarriage to enable them to make informed decisions about their pregnancy.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has considered the available evidence on diagnosis and initial management in early pregnancy of ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage and published clinical guidelines on 12 December 2012: www.nice.org. uk/nicemedia/live/14000/61854/61854.pdf.
	Health professionals will wish to follow the NICE recommendation that women be informed that the diagnosis of miscarriage using one ultrasound scan cannot be guaranteed to be 100% accurate and there is a small chance that the diagnosis may be incorrect, particularly at very early gestational ages.

Health: Neurology

Baroness Gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the commissioning data set for neurology will be developed; and who will be responsible for collecting the data and ensuring that it is accurate.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government when the commissioning data set for neurology will be complete.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people with long-term neurological conditions in the United Kingdom have a care plan.

Earl Howe: The department does collect information on the number of people with a long-term neurological condition who have a care plan. Data on care planning was previously collected by the GP Practice Survey, which assesses patients' experiences of local National Health Services. The most recent data collected, which cover the period April 2010 to March 2011, showed that of nearly 2 million respondents with a long-term condition, 83% reported they had a care planning discussion, and 96% reported an improvement in their care as a result of the care planning process. Of those respondents reporting having a care planning discussion, 70% did not want a written plan summarising the discussion.
	The Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention work stream on long-term conditions is looking at reducing the variations in the care planning that people receive. Evidence emerging from this work suggests that people want and value a care planning discussion rather than the need for a written care plan.
	Arrangements for the development and operation of the neurology dataset will be matters for the NHS Commissioning Board to determine as it moves towards taking on its full responsibilities from April 2013. The board has committed to working with the service to increase the amount of data flowing within the NHS to support clinical commissioners in driving continuous improvements in quality in both secondary and primary care.

Health: Neurology

Baroness Gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what indicators in the Commissioning Outcomes Framework pertain specifically to neurological conditions.

Earl Howe: The NHS Commissioning Board published the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (formerly the Commissioning Outcomes Framework) for 2013-14 on 18 December. The set contains indicators from the NHS Outcomes Framework that specifically include patients with neurological conditions. These are as follows (with the NHS Outcomes Framework number in brackets):
	potential years of life lost from causes amenable to healthcare (1a); health-related quality of life for people with long- term conditions (2);unplanned hospitalisation for chronic ambulatory care sensitive conditions (adults) (2.3.i); andunplanned hospitalisation for asthma, diabetes and epilepsy in under 19s (2.3.ii).

Health: Obesity

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to patients of using products containing orlistat in treatments (1) prescribed by the NHS, and (2) sold over the counter.

Earl Howe: Orlistat is authorised for weight loss in adults who are overweight and should be taken in conjunction with a mildly hypocaloric, lower-fat diet. Orlistat works by preventing the absorption of ingested fat. Orlistat is available as both a prescription-only medicine (Xenical) and a non-prescription over-the-counter medicine that is available under the supervision of a pharmacist (Alli).
	Orlistat is authorised throughout the European Union and a full assessment of its safety and efficacy was conducted at the time of authorisation. Public assessment reports have been published by the European Medicines Agency.
	The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency keeps the safety of all licensed medicines, including orlistat-containing products, under close review using a wide range of data sources. These include suspected adverse drug reactions spontaneously reported by health professionals and patients through the Yellow Card scheme.
	Up-to-date information on the side effects of orlistat is provided in the product information for prescribers and the patient information leaflets, which accompany both the prescription-only and the over-the-counter medicines.

Health: Parkinson's Disease

Baroness Gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the quality standard for Parkinson's disease will be developed.

Earl Howe: We have asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop a quality standard on Parkinson's disease as part of a library of approximately 180 National Health Service quality standards. NICE has not yet published a timescale for the development of this quality standard.
	The NHS Commissioning Board, which will be responsible for the strategic direction of NHS quality standards from April 2013, has begun discussions with NICE to determine the most appropriate sequencing for NHS quality standards to assist the board in improving patient outcomes across the five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework.

Health: Parkinson's Disease

Baroness Gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on Parkinson's disease will next be updated.

Earl Howe: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of Parkinson's disease in primary and secondary care in June 2006.
	NICE carried out a routine review of the need to update the clinical guideline in 2011 and concluded that the guideline should be further considered for an update once the outcomes of recent clinical research in this area have been published.

Higher Education: Modern Languages

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) modern languages departments, and (2) degree courses in or including one or more modern language, have been closed in United Kingdom universities in each of the last five years.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The Government do not hold the specific data requested. Higher education institutions (HEI) are autonomous and responsible for how they structure themselves and what courses they offer. As a result of our funding reforms, from 2012-13 HEI funding increasingly flows from the fees paid by students, so institutions are making decisions about which courses to offer to respond to student demand.
	We have asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to protect subjects that are strategically important and vulnerable (SIVS), including modern foreign languages, to avoid undesirable reductions in the scale of provision.
	HEFCE is working with institutions to explore how modern foreign language (MFL) provision could best be sustained across the sector, taking into account the new landscape for student fees and finance in HE. HEFCE continues to provide funding for student demand-raising activity in MFL at a national level: for 2012-13 this funding is worth £1 million and between 2013 and 2016 HEFCE has committed to invest a further £3 million in a new programme of demand-raising work. Given the need to sustain the supply of MFL provision, HEFCE protected student numbers in these subjects in the redistribution of student numbers for 2012-13.
	The table below shows the total number of students studying modern foreign languages over the past five years. It demonstrates that there has been little change in the overall number of FTE students taking modern foreign languages at undergraduate level.
	
		
			 Table 1: Undergraduate FTE in modern foreign languages drawn from HESA data* 
			  Academic year 
			  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 % change 2006-07 to 2010-11 
			 Undergraduate FTE in modern foreign languages 27,967 26,883 27,441 27,185 28,021 0% 
		
	
	* Includes all students across all modes of study (full-time and part-time), from all domiciles (home, EU and international), and in all years of study. Excludes Open University.

Higher Education: Online Courses

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact on the provision of university education of the publication by leading United Kingdom universities of degree resources online.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: The UK must be at the forefront of developments in educational technology. Open online courses present an opportunity for us to widen access to, and meet the global demand for, higher education. Recent initiatives by the Open University and others will make high-quality UK-produced academic content freely available to anyone who wishes to study it. We congratulate the Open University and its partners on this.

House of Lords: Appointments

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Strathclyde on 19 November (WA 320), when they expect to start on the process of achieving the objective of creating a second Chamber that is reflective of the share of the vote secured by the political parties in the last general election.

Lord Strathclyde: It remains the Government's continued intention that Lords appointments will be made with the objective of creating a second Chamber that is reflective of the share of the vote secured by the political parties in the last general election, and this commitment is taken into account by the Prime Minister when making appointments.

House of Lords: Catering

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether he will ensure that foie gras is removed from the menu of all catering establishments in the House of Lords.

Lord Sewel: The only outlets where foie gras had been on the menu were the Barry Room and the Peers' Dining Room, during December 2012. Foie gras has now been removed from the menu in both outlets.
	Foie gras has also been an option for menus for banqueting events, but will be removed from future banqueting menus.

House of Lords: Members

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord McNally on 10 December (WA 196), what steps they take to ensure that all Members of the House of Lords retain the correct citizenship status to be a Member of the House.

Lord McNally: Since it was established in May 2000, the House of Lords Appointments Commission has asked non-party-political nominees to confirm their nationality and hereditary Peers elected in a by-election are required to confirm they are not disqualified for membership of the House of Lords, but Members' nationality is not actively monitored thereafter.

House of Lords: Private Members' Bills

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance in the preparation of Private Members' Bills was provided by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in (1) the 2010-12 Session, and (2) this Session.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: No direct assistance in the preparation of Private Members' Bills has been provided by the department during the previous and current Sessions. This is because no Private Members' Bills were tabled which fitted in with agreed policy of the department. The department does, however, endeavour to support Members whenever it can if their proposed Private Members' Bills fit in with departmental policy.

Housing

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to make family housing more accessible.

Baroness Hanham: The Government believe that local communities should determine the right mix of new housing for their area. In June 2010 we removed the national minimum density target from Planning Policy Statement 3 (Housing) to give local authorities the flexibility to set density ranges that suit the local needs in their areas-particularly for family houses. The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that councils should plan to meet the objectively assessed needs for market and affordable housing in the housing market area. As part of this, they should plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, market trends and the needs of different groups in the community, such as families with children.
	The Homes and Communities Agency is expecting that delivery of larger family homes through the new Affordable Homes Programme is broadly in line with the proportion delivered through the earlier National Affordable Homes Programme. Around 29% of the homes will be family-sized homes (3+ bedrooms).
	The Government are also committed to helping people access all types of housing, including family housing, by providing help with mortgage finance. Over £900 million is being invested by government and housebuilders through FirstBuy to help up to 27,000 first-time buyers into home ownership by March 2014. FirstBuy offers an equity loan of up to 20% of the property value which can be used towards the cost of purchasing a home. 45.7% of FirstBuy sales to the end of September 2012 were properties of three or more bedrooms. The NewBuy Guarantee scheme helps buyers realise their aspirations for home ownership with a 5% deposit. The Government provide the necessary guarantee to support lenders to offer 95% loan-to-value new-build mortgages.

Housing

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to improve the design quality of new-build housing.

Baroness Hanham: Our housing strategy, Laying the Foundations: A Housing Strategy for England, was published in November 2011. It emphasises that getting the quality, sustainability and design of housing right is crucial if communities are going to support new homes.
	In line with this, the National Planning Policy Framework published in March 2012 makes clear that good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, is indivisible from good planning and should contribute positively to making places better for people. Specifically it sets out that: permission should be refused for development of poor design; great weight should be given to outstanding or innovative designs; proposals that have evolved to take account of the views of the community should be looked on more favourably; and local planning authorities should have local design review arrangements in place.
	In addition, we are currently funding the Design Council CABE to provide design review services. This enables developers and local authorities to get potential schemes reviewed by an independent panel of experts, who provide advice on how the scheme design could be improved.
	We have also supported the development of the Building for Life design checklist. This is promoted by the Home Builders Federation and the Design Council as a reference tool that can be used at the pre-application stage to help frame local discussions about the design of a new housing scheme.

Housing

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce minimum space and storage standards for new homes as part of their review of housing standards.

Baroness Hanham: No decisions have been made about standards for space and storage in the review of local housing standards. Ministers will receive recommendations for their consideration in due course.

Housing

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current minimum space standards applicable to new affordable housing developments.

Baroness Hanham: Information on the design and sustainability standards used by the Homes and Communities Agency can be found online at: www. homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/design-and-sustainability-standards.
	Information on how the quality of housing schemes is measured is at: www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/hqi.

Housing

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost implications of (1) the Lifetime Homes Standards, (2) the Code for Sustainable Homes, and (3) minimum space standards for public housing for new developments in England.

Baroness Hanham: The Department for Communities and Local Government commissioned analysis of the cost implications of Lifetime Homes Standards by Building Cost Information Service in 2009, which estimated costs ranging between £199 and £2,500 per unit for different home types and designs.
	The cost of the Code for Sustainable Homes has been regularly assessed, and the last report was published in 2011. This indicated that extra over costs can range between £230 and £40,000 per unit, depending on different code level, home type and design, and location. The latest cost report is available at this link: https:// www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-building-housing-to-the-code-for-sustainable-homes-standard-updated-cost-review.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government has not made any estimate of the cost implications of space standards.

Housing

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the regulations relating to information required for the marketing of new homes and what consideration they have given to the proposals made by the Royal Institute of British Architects for an industry-wide voluntary agreement regarding the quality and nature of information provided in marketing information for the sale of homes.

Baroness Hanham: Striking the right balance in the regulatory system is very important. We need to protect consumers while eliminating the avoidable burdens of regulation and bureaucracy to promote growth, innovation and social action.
	To protect consumers, the marketing of new homes is covered by general marketing and consumer protection laws. There is also a requirement that an energy performance certificate must be made available to prospective home purchasers.
	To remove unnecessary red tape, we abolished the previous Government's home information packs because they significantly increased the cost of moving home for sellers and resulted in duplicated costs as buyers did not trust the information. We have also recently announced our intention to repeal the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 as the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 provide adequate similar protections against false or misleading commercial practices in this sector, as in other sectors.
	We would welcome further industry initiatives in response to the proposal from the Royal Institute of British Architects and Future Homes Commission. This could build on the consumer code for house-builders, which is an example of an existing voluntary industry-wide initiative to make the home-buying process fairer and more transparent for purchasers.

Housing

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what conditions or expectations are set out in agreements with developers for the disposal of public land for the purpose of new housing development as to the design quality of the homes that will be built.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what requirements are set out for developers taking part in the Build Now Pay Later scheme in respect of the design quality of homes built on surplus public sector land.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure that new homes built on surplus public sector land are of a good design quality.

Baroness Hanham: As part of the Government's public land programme, departments are freeing up their surplus, formerly used land, with development potential, particularly for housing. Each landowning department is responsible for the disposal of its land and the contracts it uses, including Build Now Pay Later terms, and these will be tailored on a site-by-site basis.
	The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the Government's planning policies on design, making it clear that good design is a key aspect of sustainable development. Matters of design quality for homes on public land and all sites are for local decision, as they importantly need to respect the local character and environment of the area. I refer my noble friend to the answer given to my honourable friend the Member for South Staffordshire on 7 January (Official Report, col. 127W), which provides more detail about the steps being taken by the Government to encourage good design.

Immigration: Detention

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of detainees without authorisation to be in the United Kingdom have been incarcerated for (1) one year, and (2) over two years.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, of the detainees without authorisation to be present in the United Kingdom who have been incarcerated for over two years, how many were (1) released, (2) forcibly released, and (3) kept in detention, during the last five years.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The number of persons detained under Immigration Act powers at 30 September 2012, the latest date for which published information is available, was 3,091; 149 were detained for one year or more and, of these, 27 were detained for two years or more.
	I have assumed that by "forcibly released" you refer to individuals whose release has been ordered by the courts. We have provided information relating to those released on bail, but do not hold information centrally on whether temporary admission or release is given as the result of a court order or following the UK Border Agency's review of detention. Information on the number of individuals leaving detention, including the reasons and length of detention, is only available from 2010.
	Of those detained for two years or more:
	77 persons left detention in 2010. Of these, 26 were removed and 15 were granted temporary admission or release. A further 31 were granted bail.
	118 persons left detention in 2011. Of these, 29 were removed and 23 were granted temporary admission or release. A further 61 were granted bail.
	55 persons left detention in 2012 up to 30 September 2012, the latest date for which published information is available. Of these, 19 were removed and 13 were granted temporary admission or release. A further 22 were granted bail.
	Detailed information on people in detention, by length of detention, is released quarterly in table dt.9.q, and people leaving detention in tables dt.05.q and dt.06.q of Immigration Statistics, which is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Science, Research and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-tabs-q3-2012/detention-q3-2012-tabs?view=Binary
	Detention is a necessary part of the process to remove some individuals with no right to be in the UK. We always seek to remove those with no right to be here as quickly as possible but if detainees give false or incomplete information or submit spurious last-minute appeals, then in such cases, it can delay their return and extend their detention.

Immigration: Detention

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will establish an independent panel to review the cases of detainees without authorisation to be present in the United Kingdom who are held for lengthy periods.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The establishment of such a panel is not considered to be necessary or appropriate. Exercise of immigration detention powers is a matter for the Secretary of State. Decisions to maintain detention are kept under regular review at successively higher levels in the UK Border Agency, with cases involving particularly lengthy detention being reviewed at director level. The legality of detention can be challenged in the courts, as well as the individual having the right to apply for bail at any time.

Immigration: Handcuffs

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times (1) handcuffs, and (2) escort chains, were used on children by escort providers escorting children to or from (a) immigration reception centres, (b) the pre-departure accommodation, The Cedars, and (c) immigration detention centres, during the latest 12-month period for which figures are available, and during the three preceding 12-month periods.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Handcuffs are only ever used on children as a last resort where it is strictly necessary to prevent self-harm or escape, or to protect others and property. Escorting officers do not use chains.
	The detention and escorting contract transferred to Reliance Secure Task Management on 1 May 2011. From May 2011 to the present date, there have not been any instances of officers using handcuffs on children when escorting them to or from the pre-departure accommodation or immigration removal centres. There are no facilities called immigration reception centres.
	Data from the previous escorting provider are not available.
	The information is taken from data normally used for management information only. It has not been subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications and is provisional and subject to change.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Government of Israel concerning any long-term ceasefire they were negotiating with Hamas before the recent hostilities started.

Baroness Warsi: We are aware of media reports about a possible full ceasefire proposal before the recent violence in Gaza and southern Israel. However, we have not discussed this issue with the Israeli Government.
	Following the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on 21 November, the priority now must be to address the underlying causes of the conflict, including more open access to and from Gaza for people and goods, and an end to the smuggling of weapons. It is important that momentum towards finding a solution to the problems of Gaza is maintained.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reported raids by Israeli forces on the offices of Palestinian human rights organisations, including the offices of the Union of Palestinian Women Committees and the Palestinian NGO Network.

Baroness Warsi: We are deeply concerned by the incursion by Israeli security forces into Ramallah on 11 December to raid the offices of three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with which the EU has implemented co-operation projects-Addameer, the Union of Palestinian Women Committees (UPWC) and the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO).
	Incursions by Israeli forces into Palestinian cities where the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords assumes the powers and responsibilities for internal security and public order put in jeopardy the internationally recognised success of Palestinian institution-building efforts.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Government of Israel concerning the recommendation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office report Children in Military Custody that military law and public administration should deal with Palestinian children on an equal footing with Israeli children.

Baroness Warsi: Our ambassador to Tel Aviv has discussed the report's findings with the Israeli Attorney-General and Deputy Attorney-General and with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We will continue dialogue with the Israeli authorities on this issue.
	The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), has also written to the Israeli ambassador on this subject and has met Baroness Scotland, as one of the authors, to discuss follow-up to the report.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent representations they have made to the Government of Israel concerning Palestinian farmers in Jayyous and elsewhere who are unable to access their land because of the security barrier.

Baroness Warsi: Through our embassy in Tel Aviv, we have lobbied the appropriate authorities on the issue of movement and access. We continue to work closely with the quartet and EU partners, and to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access.
	The UK position on the separation barrier is clear: if Israel wished to build the barrier, it should have been built on the 1967 border-and where it is constructed on the Palestinian side of that border, it is illegal under international law.
	According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs there are now 522 obstacles which restrict Palestinian access, compared to 503 at the end of 2010. This is a clear increase and it is clear that more needs to be done, particularly in the Jordan Valley and Palestinian land on the Israeli side of the separation barrier.
	We will continue to argue for a just outcome for all the people affected by illegal settlement construction and the confiscation of land due to the separation barrier. This includes funding from the Department for International Development for the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide legal support to communities affected by the occupation.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the total cost of Mr Tony Blair and his supporting staff in his role as Quartet Envoy to the Middle East; and what is the United Kingdom share of that cost.

Baroness Warsi: The Government do not provide any financial contribution to the Office of the Quartet Representative. However, we do currently second two civil servants to the Office of the Quartet Representative in London, and one to the Office of the Quartet Representative in Jerusalem, to support the work of the quartet in reinforcing the prospects of a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
	The Government do not hold information on the total cost of Tony Blair's role as Quartet Envoy.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Israel about access to the Old City of Jerusalem for pilgrims and students coming from the West Bank, Jordan and Israel, in line with United Nations resolutions on the matter.

Baroness Warsi: We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement between the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Through our embassy in Tel Aviv, we have lobbied the appropriate authorities on the issue of movement and access. We continue to work closely with the quartet and EU partners, and to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access.

Israel and Palestine: West Bank

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Government of Israel concerning the break-in and removal of all computer hard disks from the human rights offices of Addameer and other community organisations in Ramallah.

Baroness Warsi: We are deeply concerned by the incursion by Israeli security forces into Ramallah on 11 December, to raid the offices of three non-governmental organisations, including Addameer, the Union of Palestinian Women Committees and the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisation Network.
	Incursions by Israeli forces into Palestinian cities where the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords assumes the powers and responsibilities for internal security and public order put in jeopardy the internationally recognized success of Palestinian institution building efforts.
	Officials at our embassy in Tel Aviv are actively seeking an opportunity to raise this raid with the Israeli authorities.

Justice: Confiscation Orders

Lord Thomas of Gresford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners are currently serving a term of imprisonment for default in the payment of confiscation orders.

Lord McNally: The National Offender Management Service and the Ministry of Justice Analytical Services are unable to obtain information from their data systems in relation to how many offenders are currently serving a confiscation default sentence for non-payment of confiscation orders. In addition, if the court has invoked the default sentence and if the offender is still serving their substantive prison sentence they will not be classed as serving their default sentence until after they have served their main sentence.

Justice: Confiscation Orders

Lord Thomas of Gresford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was recovered from confiscation orders in 2011.

Lord McNally: A record amount of £120.8 million was recovered from confiscation orders in England and Wales during the financial year of 2011-12.

Justice: Confiscation Orders

Lord Thomas of Gresford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many confiscation orders resulted in default sentences being activated in 2011.

Lord McNally: HMCTS has eight regional confiscation units and the breakdown of the number of default prison sentences activated for non-payment of confiscation orders during 2011-12 is recorded in the table below.
	
		
			 HMCTS Regional Confiscation Unit Number of default sentences activated during 2011-12 
			 London 66 
			 Midlands (east) 27 
			 Midlands (west) 41 
			 North East 37 
			 North West 67 
			 South East 48 
			 South West 35 
			 Wales 6 
			 Total 327

Justice: Confiscation Orders

Lord Thomas of Gresford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what range of default sentences were set by the Crown Courts for non-payment of confiscation orders in 2011.

Lord McNally: The minimum prison default sentence for non-payment is seven days for outstanding amounts up to £200, while the maximum additional sentence is 10 years for outstanding amounts over £1 million.
	The table below records the sliding scale of default prison sentences against the amount left outstanding, all of which were allocated during 2011-12.
	
		
			 Amount Default Period 
			 Not exceeding £200 7 days 
			 Exceeding £200 but less than £500 14 days 
			 Exceeding £500 but less than £1,000 28 days 
			 Exceeding £1,000 but less than £2,500 45 days 
			 Exceeding £2,500 but less than £5,000 3 months 
			 Exceeding £5,000 but less than £10,000 6 months 
			 Exceeding £10,000 but less than £20,000 12 months 
			 Exceeding £20,000 but less than £50,000 18 months 
			 Exceeding £50,000 but less than £100,000 2 years 
			 Exceeding £100,000 but less than £250,000 3 years 
			 Exceeding £250,000 but less than £1,000,000 5 years 
			 Exceeding £ 1,000,000 10 years

Justice: Confiscation Orders

Lord Thomas of Gresford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what types of offence resulted in confiscation orders being made in 2011.

Lord McNally: During the 2011-12 financial year, 20 of the 21 offence categories were used for grant confiscation orders. No confiscation orders were granted under terrorism during 2011-12.
	The table below records the volume and value of confiscation orders granted during 2011-12, under each offence category.
	
		
			 Offence Volume of Orders Granted Value of Orders Granted 
			 Arms Trafficking 7 £1,766,873.33 
			 Bribery and Corruption 11 £1,716,429.75 
			 Burglary/Theft 512 £5,697,593.23 
			 Counterfeiting/Intellectual Property/Forgery 135 £8,814,064.66 
			 Drug Trafficking 3,333 £45,428,479.24 
			 Excise Duty Fraud 46 £2,917,292.68 
			 Handling Stolen Goods 63 £868,691.02 
			 Intellectual Property Crime 13 £186,313.94 
			 Money-laundering - Drugs 257 £12,407,865.56 
			 Money-laundering - Other 333 £32,106,071.95 
			 Other Crime 127 £8,556,117.70 
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of dishonesty 904 £36,014,747.14 
			 People Trafficking 32 £2,179,856.14 
			 Pimps and Brothels/Prostitution/Pornography 51 £3,372,369.73 
			 Robbery 103 £513,453.21 
			 Tax and Benefit Fraud 300 £14,215,450.13 
			 Terrorism 0 0.00 
			 Trading Standards Offences 3 £473,820.00 
			 Unknown 12 £150,134.32 
			 VAT Fraud 25 £10,165,274.51 
			 Vehicle Offences 3 £111,772.35 
			 Grand Total 6,270 £187,662,670.59

Justice: Confiscation Orders

Lord Thomas of Gresford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the cost of confiscation proceedings in 2010 and 2011 arising out of court hearings, the use of expert witnesses, enforcement and default prison sentences.

Lord McNally: HM Courts and Tribunals Service systems do not identify the cost of confiscation proceedings, including court hearings, the use of expert witnesses, enforcement and default prison sentences. To provide an estimate would require liaising with many government departments and would incur disproportionate costs. Furthermore it is difficult to set an average cost, as some confiscation cases are straightforward while others such as fraud are very complex and would be lengthy and include many specialists.

Kenya

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the issue of an apology to Kenyan victims of torture during the 1950s Kenyan Emergency.

Baroness Warsi: We understand the pain and grievance felt by all those involved in the divisive and bloody events of the emergency period in Kenya. We acknowledge that the claimants in the related case currently before the High Court may have suffered torture and ill treatment. However, in light of the ongoing legal proceedings it would not be appropriate to comment further.

Kenya

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will meet the Kenyan Human Rights Commission to discuss the setting up of a welfare fund for Kenyan victims of torture and violence and degrading treatment by the British colonial authorities during the 1950s Kenyan Emergency.

Baroness Warsi: It would not be appropriate to comment on the possibility of a welfare fund while there is an ongoing legal case in the High Court.

Liver Bird

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to (1) Liverpool Football Club, (2) Liverpool City Council, (3) the UK Intellectual Property Office, and (4) the European Union Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, regarding the rights associated with the use of the Liver Bird; and, if they have not made representations, whether they will do so.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: There has been no recent contact between the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and either Liverpool Football Club or Liverpool City Council regarding use of the Liver Bird in their logos. In April 2009, an official from IPO held a discussion with representatives of both Liverpool Football Club and Liverpool City Council to offer advice in relation to their continued and joint use of the Liver Bird.
	IPO has not discussed this matter with, nor made any representations to, the Office for the Harmonisation of the Internal Market, and is not aware of any discussions between that office and Liverpool Football Club or Liverpool City Council.

Localism Act 2011

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government to what extent the duty to co-operate introduced in the Localism Act 2011 applies to co-operation between public bodies for individual development sites; and whether they will consider measures to require co-operation between public bodies and private companies on individual sites.

Baroness Hanham: The duty to co-operate applies to the preparation of local and marine plans where local planning authorities, county councils and prescribed bodies are planning for strategic cross-boundary matters. Local planning authorities report to their communities on their actions under the duty in their authority monitoring report at least annually. The duty is intended to support the joint working necessary for good plan-making and this may include work with private partners where appropriate. Public bodies subject to the duty are required to have regard to the activities of local enterprise partnerships when preparing local plans, bringing together public and private sector organisations. The duty does not apply to the development management process but there is a similar expectation around effective joint working.

London Underground: Line Extensions

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the cost of extending the Northern Line to Battersea Power station; and what contribution the developer of that site will make.

Earl Attlee: The costs of the extension are not expected to exceed £1 billion in outturn prices. Further design works will be required to provide a more accurate forecast of the capital costs, which will also be dependent on the timing of construction.
	Transport for London is currently working with the London boroughs of Wandsworth and Lambeth, the Greater London Authority and private developers to finalise the project's funding and financing solution. The developer of the Battersea Power Station site is committed to providing £211.6 million (this figure will be subject to indexation) of funding towards infrastructure works, as set out in its Section 106 agreement. At least 72% of this will be used to fund the Northern Line extension.

Muslim Brotherhood

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of whether the Muslim Brotherhood presents any terrorist threat globally.

Baroness Warsi: The Muslim Brotherhood is a diverse movement that has its own political parties in a number of countries. We will engage with political parties where they respect the democratic process and have a commitment to human rights, the rule of law and non-violence. We do not consider the Muslim Brotherhood to be a terrorist organisation.

NHS: Contracts

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many NHS contracts are currently placed with organisations owned by private equity companies.

Earl Howe: Contracts to provide goods and services to National Health Service bodies are generally let by the NHS bodies themselves. As a consequence the department does not hold information on the corporate structure of suppliers awarded these contracts.

NHS: Data

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask Her Majesty's Government what applications they have (1) received, and (2) granted, from organisations which collect data from NHS users in NHS hospital maternity units regarding the permission of onward sale of that data to other organisations and individuals.

Earl Howe: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) is the central body responsible for undertaking national collections of data from health and care organisations, including data on maternity services. The HSCIC routinely publishes and shares the data it collects so that they can be used to support the delivery of healthcare services but-crucially-only in ways that do not identify individuals. Identifiable data are released by the HSCIC only where consent has been obtained or where there is another basis in law to release it.
	The HSCIC receives applications for specific extracts of the data it holds to be provided for particular purposes as part of a bespoke data extract service. All applications for such data extracts are assessed by the centre to ensure there is a valid and appropriate purpose for the intended use of the data. If they include identifiable data, the applicant must have the appropriate legal approval to see the data. In addition, a customer of the service can only hold the data having signed a data reuse agreement which contains strict conditions about how the data are to be used.
	The HSCIC operates this service on a cost recovery basis. That means that any charges made by HSCIC cover only the resource cost of providing the data. No charge is made for the data itself.
	The HSCIC records requests for bespoke data extracts according to the customer rather than the subject matter of the data. As a result, this information is not stored in a way that allows any requests which may have included maternity data to be identified without examining every extract request manually.
	Dame Fiona Caldicott is currently leading an independent review, commissioned by the Government, to examine and report on how we can strike the right balance between appropriately safeguarding people's health and care data while ensuring we are able to harness the enormous power information has to transform people's experience of care. That review is expected to report early in 2013.

NHS: Funding

Baroness Pitkeathley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost to the National Health Service in the period 2007-2012, as captured by the National Programme Budgeting Database, of funding continuing healthcare packages for patients' ongoing health and social care needs, broken down by medical speciality.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost to the National Health Service in the period 2007-2012 of funding continuing healthcare packages for patients' ongoing health and social care needs arising from problems of vision, broken down by primary care trust.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost to the National Health Service in the period 2007-2012 of funding continuing healthcare packages for patients' ongoing health and social care needs arising from neurological problems, broken down by primary care trust.

Earl Howe: The cost of funding National Health Service continuing healthcare packages is not captured specifically by National Programme Budgeting. Since 2009, the department has collected information on the total cost of NHS continuing healthcare packages through a financial information management system1. The annual costs are as follows:
	2009-10 - £2,030,071,000;2010-11 - £2,186,171,000; and2011-12 - £2,324,655,000.
	This information is not available broken down by medical specialty.
	Note:
	1This is management information and is not audited for departmental records

NHS: General Practitioners

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to minimise patient services being cut by general practitioners.

Earl Howe: The proposed changes to the general practitioners' (GP) contract for 2013-14 are designed to improve the range and quality of services provided by GP practices.
	The Government's evidence to the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration proposes that GP practices should also receive an uplift in funding for 2013-14 to allow up to a 1% increase in pay for GPs and practice staff and additional funding to reflect increases in non-staff expenses.

NHS: Liverpool Care Pathway

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all patients who are intended to be placed on the Liverpool Care Pathway, and their legal carers, (1) must be informed by hospital staff of that intention, and (2) have the absolute right to decline this form of care.

Earl Howe: The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) is an option for clinicians to help manage the care of people in their last days or hours of life, complementing the skill and expertise of the practitioner using it. It requires senior doctors and nurses involved in a patient's care to agree that death is very likely to be imminent, and that being placed on the LCP would reduce a patient's distress, discomfort and pain. That decision involves the clinician choosing the best approach to care for an individual patient, whether curative treatment, palliative care, or a mixture of both. The LCP documentation is very clear that the decision should involve the patient and family members wherever possible. The LCP is not a treatment but a framework for managing treatments. Consent is therefore not required for the LCP itself, but normal consent rules apply to treatments while someone is on the LCP. If, as part of the discussions between the patient, family and healthcare team, it becomes clear that someone did not wish LCP to be used to help manage their care, then the healthcare team should respect that choice.

NHS: Liverpool Care Pathway

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government who has been appointed to chair their inquiry into the operation of the Liverpool Care Pathway; with whom the chair will be working to conduct that inquiry; and what mandate the inquiry will have.

Earl Howe: We expect to announce the chair of the independent inquiry very shortly. Once the chair is in place, further details, including the terms of reference for the inquiry, will be published.

North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Warsi on 12 December (Official Report, col. 1064) and following the decision by the Government of North Korea to test its ballistic missile technology, what message was conveyed to the ambassador from North Korea during the meeting to which he was invited at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 12 December; what was his response; and what contact the Foreign Secretary has had with the Government of China in preparation for the meeting of the United Nations Security Council which will consider this matter.

Baroness Warsi: The North Korean ambassador was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) by the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), on 12 December. Alistair Burt condemned North Korea's satellite launch, made clear that it was a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1874 and emphasised the importance of North Korea adhering to its international obligations. He also pointed out that North Korea should prioritise its resources on feeding its people, avoid further provocative action and take urgent steps to re-engage constructively with the international community.
	The ambassador's response was consistent with public statements by the North Koreans.
	The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), met the North Korean ambassador on 19 December. He repeated the UK's strong condemnation of the satellite launch and explained that under international law North Korea must adhere to the obligations placed on it by the UN Security Council. He reiterated the Government's call for North Korea to focus its resources on improving the lives of the North Korean people.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), did not have any contact himself with the Chinese Government before the UN Security Council meeting on 12 December. However, in advance of the satellite launch, he instructed our embassy in Beijing to speak to the Chinese Government to explain our position. Officials from the FCO in London also spoke to the Chinese embassy and our ambassador to North Korea met the Chinese ambassador in Pyongyang to reiterate these messages.

North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions have taken place in the United Nations Security Council following the launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea; what bilateral discussions they have had with China; and what measures are being taken in response by the international community.

Baroness Warsi: The UN Security Council held urgent consultations following the launch on 12 December of North Korea's Eunha 3 rocket. In that meeting, members of the Security Council condemned the launch as a clear violation of Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874. They recalled that in April 2012 the council demanded that North Korea not proceed with any further launches using ballistic missile technology. Consultations on the exact nature of the Security Council's response are ongoing between council members.
	Officials at the UK Mission to the UN have also discussed the satellite launch with officials at the Chinese Mission to the UN as part of wider efforts to secure a strong UN response. Our embassy in Beijing has also spoken to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and set out our position in an attempt to secure Chinese support for an appropriate Security Council response.
	We and other like-minded partners remain focused on seeing the Security Council agree an appropriate response to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's launch. EU member states will then consider their own response, in light of decisions taken by the Security Council. At the same time, other international partners such as South Korea and Japan are also considering bilateral responses to the satellite launch.

Ofsted

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hill of Oareford on 24 September (WA 326) regarding complaints to Ofsted, whether details of complaints are made public, and if so where; and what was the outcome of the two complaints against further education colleges which were not concluded at the time the Question was answered.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: This question is a matter for Ofsted. The Deputy Chief Inspector, Education, Children's Services and Skills, John Goldup, has written to the noble Baroness, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from John Goldup, Deputy Chief Inspector, Education, Children's Services and Skills, Ofsted, to Baroness Sharp of Guildford, dated 13 December 2012.
	Your recent Parliamentary Question has been passed to Ofsted for response. Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is away, and I am replying on his behalf.
	I can confirm that we do not currently make public details of complaints about Ofsted's work. However, the annual report of the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted (ICASO) evaluates how complaints have been handled when complainants remain dissatisfied following our internal investigations into their concerns. The ICASO annual report is available on its website at: http://www.ofstedadjudicationservice.co.uk/
	In terms of the two complaints by further education colleges where investigations had not been completed at the time the previous Parliamentary Question was answered, one related to the inspection judgments awarded, and one related to aspects of inspector conduct, administrative issues and the inspection judgments. None of these concerns was upheld following complaint investigations.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Lord Hill of Oareford, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools, and will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Older People

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Warsi on 14 December (Official Report, col. 1328) that "the mark of a good society is how it treats its old people", what plans they have to encourage people in the United Kingdom to value older people.

Baroness Warsi: As the debate on 14 December highlighted, the contribution of older people to our society is considerable and wide-ranging. The people who benefit from that contribution-whatever form it takes-already hold them with great value.
	Government do recognise the importance of the issues facing people in later life and the contribution they make to society, but do not assume that they know all the answers. The Age Action Alliance was created in recognition of the need for a radical shift in approach. The alliance's vision is informed and driven by older people themselves, sharing a vision of improving older people's lives and creating neighbourhoods where all older people are secure, valued and able to make a contribution to their local communities and wider society.
	UK Older People's Day is held on 1 October and celebrates the contribution older people make to our society. The purpose of the day is to be a national celebration of the achievements and contributions that older people make to our society and to the economy. Supported by the Department for Work and Pensions, Older People's Day is a means through which we can progressively address negative attitudes and outdated stereotypes.
	Community events such as the Big Lunch have also shown themselves to be good vehicles for bringing the generations together. In 2012 8.5 million people took part, with events often involving an intergenerational aspect. In rural Cleveland, targeted support made possible by this department gave an isolated community a big boost with teenagers helping older residents to take part in the Big Lunch.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 6 December (WA 203-4), whether the voluntary contribution of €150,000 to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development "to support rapid progress on its work to tackle the profit shifting and the erosion of the corporate tax base at the global level" is directly linked to a specific deliverable and agreed timetable.

Lord Newby: The Organisation for the Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) work is important to help promote a better way of dealing with profit shifting and the erosion of the corporate tax base at the global level. The OECD will report to the G20 Finance Ministers on progress in February 2013. The timetable and direction for further work by the OECD will be set following consideration of the February report.
	Given the complex issues involved and the need to gather evidence, the voluntary contributions to this work will help make progress in achieving concrete results.

Overseas Aid

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding the Department for International Development has allocated in the last two financial years for (1) agriculture, (2) forestry, (3) fisheries, and (4) livestock, broken down by country.

Baroness Northover: DfID uses input sector codes to collect information on sectoral spend across its bilateral programme. Information on how much is spent by sector is published annually through its Statistics on International Development publication and at more detailed sectoral level through a set of additional tables. This information can be found at the following link: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/Aid-Statistics/Statistics-on-International-Development-2012/.
	The tables below provide details of bilateral spending in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and livestock broken down by country and regional programme in financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12. The department also provides finance for these sectors through core contributions to multilateral organisations. For example, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) received £32 million in 2010-11, with elements of this funding being used for agricultural purposes.
	
		
			 Bilateral sector spending, by country, 2010-11 
			 £ thousand 
			 Country Agriculture Fisheries Forestry Livestock Grand Total 
			 Afghanistan 5,088 - - 6 5,094 
			 Africa Regional 11,984 2,813 1,515 1 16,314 
			 Asia Regional - - 13 - 13 
			 Brazil - - 24 - 24 
			 Burma 2.706 - - 375 3,081 
			 Cambodia 455 280 253 - 988 
			 Cameroon - - 257 - 257 
			 China 884 - - - 884 
			 Ethiopia 15,838 - - - 15,838 
			 Ghana 70 - 607 - 677 
			 India 6,888 - - - 6,888 
			 Indonesia - - 753 - 753 
			 Kenya 17 - - - 17 
			 Liberia - - 146 - 146 
			 Malawi 4,097 - - - 4,097 
			 Mozambique 192 - - - 192 
			 Nepal 1,602 - 3,200 - 4,802 
			 Nicaragua 113 - - - 113 
			 Nigeria 294 - - 694 988 
			 Pakistan 2,192 - - - 2,192 
			 Rwanda 4,283 - - - 4,283 
			 South Africa, Republic of 1 -319 - - - -319 
			 South of Sahara Regional 36 - - - 36 
			 St Helena - 169 - - 169 
			 Sudan 1,214 - - - 1,214 
			 Tajikistan, Republic of 11 - - - 11 
			 Tanzania 467 - - - 467 
			 Uganda 334  - - 334 
			 Yemen 1,021 - - - 1,021 
			 Zimbabwe 4,281 - - - 4,281 
			 Non-specific Country 5,050 48 52,872 1,205 59,174 
			 Grand Total 68,799 3,310 59,640 2,281 134,030 
		
	
	1 Reimbursement of funds to programme.
	2 Spending on agriculture based on Input Sector Codes 31110, 31120, 31130 and 31191.
	3 Spending on fisheries based on Input Sector Codes 31310 and 31320.
	4 Spending on forestry based on Input Sector Codes 31210 and 31220.
	5 Spending on livestock based on Input Sector Codes 31163.
	- represents zero expenditure
	
		
			 Bilateral sector spending, by country, 2011-12 
			 £ thousand 
			 Country Agriculture Fisheries Forestry Livestock Grand Total 
			 Afghanistan 3,540 - - 20 3,560 
			 Africa Regional 3,661 1,834 404 - 5,900 
			 Asia Regional - - 30 - 30 
			 Burma 8,375 - - 875 9,250 
			 Cameroon - - 516 - 516 
			 China - - 44 - 44 
			 Congo (Dem Rep) - - 70 - 70 
			 Ethiopia 16,740 - - - 16,740 
			 Ghana 107 - 167 - 274 
			 India 1,762 - - - 1,762 
			 Indonesia - - 1,036 - 1,036 
			 Kenya - - - 336 336 
			 Malawi 15,246 - - - 15,246 
			 Middle East 200 - - - 200 
			 Mozambique 291 - - - 291 
			 Nepal 1,958 - 3,721 - 5,680 
			 Nigeria 330 - - 573 903 
			 Pakistan 415 - - - 415 
			 Rwanda 7,115 - - - 7,115 
			 Somali Republic 1,394 - - - 1,394 
			 South Sudan 4,380 - 353 - 4.733 
			 Sudan - - 566 - 566 
			 Tajikistan, Republic of 72 - - - 72 
			 Tanzania 3,915 - - - 3.915 
			 Uganda - - 35 - 35 
			 Vietnam 0 0 - - 0 
			 Zambia 22 - - - 22 
			 Zimbabwe 3,883 - - - 3,883 
			 Non-specific Country 5,179 4 2,317 1,091 8,591 
			 Grand Total 78,587 1,838 9,261 2,895 92,580 
		
	
	1 Spending on agriculture based on Input Sector Codes 31110, 31120, 31130 and 31191.
	2 Spending on fisheries based on Input Sector Codes 31310 and 31320.
	3 Spending on forestry based on Input Sector Codes 31210 and 31220.
	4 Spending on livestock based on Input Sector Codes 31163.
	- represents zero expenditure.
	0 represents expenditure rounded down to zero.

Parliaments: Costs

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the latest figures for the annual total costs, and cost per member, of (1) the House of Lords, (2) the House of Commons, and (c) the European Parliament.

Lord Sassoon: The table below sets out the annual cost, number of Members and average cost per Member for the House of Commons, House of Lords and European Parliament.
	
		
			  Annual cost Number of Members Expenditure per member 
			  £ million  £ million 
			 House of Commons 385 650 0.59 
			 House of Lords 109 821-831 0.13 
			 European Parliament1 1,332 736 1.79 
		
	
	The figures for the House of Commons are taken from the House of Commons annual accounts 2011-122 (for both administrative and Members' budgets) and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority annual accounts 2011-123.
	The House of Lords figures are for taken from the House of Lords annual accounts 2011-124.
	For the European Parliament, figures are taken from the European Union Budget of 2011 financial report5. The European Parliament increased from 736 Members to 754 from 1 December 2011.
	1 Reported annual cost of €1,555 million, converted at the December 2011 exchange rate of €1.18 = £1
	2 http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/commons/resource-accounts
	3 http://parliamentarystandards.org.uk/About%20Us/ Corporate%20Publications/Annual%20Report%20and% 20Accounts%202011-%202012.pdf
	4 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/Id/Idresource/35/35.pdf
	5 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/ 00059f3ea3/The-budget-of-the-European-Parliament.html

Pensions

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they intend to take to ensure that recipients of the British state pension resident overseas and whose pensions are currently frozen will in future have their pensions paid at the same rate as the remaining expatriates whose pensions are uprated.

Lord Freud: There are no plans to change the current arrangements for pensions paid overseas.

Pensions

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to incorporate the £10 Christmas bonus for pensioners into the basic pension, or to abolish it.

Lord Freud: The £10 Christmas bonus is paid to both pensioners and working-age people in receipt of certain qualifying benefits.
	The majority of recipients receive their payment automatically with whichever qualifying benefit they receive, which keeps administrative costs relatively low. There are no plans to change the way the Christmas bonus is paid or to abolish it.

Planning

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the regulators of utility companies about requiring utility companies to co-operate with public bodies in the planning of sustainable development.

Baroness Hanham: In 2011, the Government undertook a consultation on the draft Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 in which the bodies subject to the duty to co-operate were prescribed. This was a general public consultation and so enabled the regulators of utility companies to put forward their views. The consultation also specifically invited views on the list of bodies that should be subject to the duty.
	A summary of the responses to that consultation was published on 27 March 2012 and is available on the departmental website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/local-planning-regulations.

Police: Aid and Development Programmes

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of opportunities to review the way in which police reform and development is administered overseas in countries where the United Kingdom is contributing to this process.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scope for employing United Kingdom police forces to deliver appropriate outcomes in aid and development programmes.

Baroness Northover: The Building Stability Overseas Strategy sets out the UK's "whole of government" approach to delivering stability and development outcomes overseas. The positive contribution that UK police forces can make to deliver development outcomes is recognised within this strategy. Appropriate use of UK police expertise and experience for a particular programme is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
	Police reform can make a critical contribution to the development of more effective security and justice services in developing countries. The UK is currently reviewing its existing approaches for police reform in order to prepare up-to-date guidance based on experience and lessons learnt.

Police: Cross-Commonwealth Reform

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scope for developing a cross-Commonwealth approach to police reform, including the establishment of a register of police reform service providers within Commonwealth police agencies.

Baroness Warsi: The Commonwealth Secretariat continues to provide Commonwealth member states with support on police reform, including facilitating co-operation between members. A recent example has seen the Secretariat run a programme to strengthen the capacity of the Sierra Leone police force through partnership with the Botswana Police College. The UK also continues to provide support to Commonwealth members on police reform through our bilateral aid. Most recently, the Department for International Development has funded programmes in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Jamaica, and the International Academy of the College of Policing provided assistance to 17 Commonwealth countries in 2012 through their training programmes. The Government have not, at this point, made an assessment of scope for further developing a cross-Commonwealth approach to police reform.

Police: Overseas Service

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the demand for the provision of United Kingdom policing practice and expertise by countries in Africa.

Baroness Warsi: UK policing is highly regarded internationally, and there is demand for UK policing expertise both through multilateral mechanisms and from specific countries. While we have not made an assessment overall of the demand within Africa for UK policing, requests put to the Stabilisation Unit-which co-ordinates all requests for "non-operational" policing assistance-suggest that demand in Africa, as elsewhere, is high. We currently have senior UK police officers serving in UN missions to South Sudan, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
	The Government's Building Stability Overseas Strategy recognises the contribution that our policing expertise can make to building security, justice and broader development outcomes.

Police: Reform

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the police of outsourcing police reform and development to commercial companies; and, what assessment they have made of the benefits delivered by the investment they have committed to such outsourcing to date.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: HM Inspectorate of Constabulary's Collaboration Report (July 2012) estimated that forces would save £169 million through collaboration by March 2015, including through collaboration with the private sector. It is for police and crime commissioners and forces to consider whether the private sector can help achieve cost savings and better services for the public. The police remain a public service, accountable to the people.

Population

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what forecast they have made of the size of the population of the United Kingdom in 2021.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, Director General for ONS, to Lord Empey, dated December 2012.
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics I have been asked to reply to your question to Her Majesty's Government asking what forecast has been made of the size of the population of the United Kingdom in 2021. [HL4285]
	Estimates of future population are available as population projections. The most recent national population projections are based on mid-year population estimates for 2010 published in 2011, and they project the population of the United Kingdom to reach 67.6 million by mid-2021. These projections do not take account of results of the 2011 Census.
	National population projections are not forecasts and do not attempt to predict the impact of future government policies, changing economic circumstances or the capacity of an area to accommodate a change in population. They provide an indication of the future size and age structure of the population if recent demographic trends continued.

Population

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government which department or agency is responsible for assessing population trends in England.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, Director General for ONS, to Lord Empey, dated December 2012.
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics I have been asked to reply to your question to Her Majesty's Government asking which department or agency is responsible for assessing population trends in England. [HL4287]
	The Office for National Statistics is responsible for population statistics and analyses population trends in order to produce population projections.

Post Office

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the £1.34 billion allocated to the Post Office for modernising its network will be spent in rural areas.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Post Office Ltd's Network Transformation programme for modernising some 6,000 branches by 2015 is operating on a voluntary basis and is still in its early stages. It is therefore not possible to indicate how much of the funding will be spent in rural areas. Of the 307 branches which had converted to new operating models as at end November 2012, 162 are classified as rural.

Post-2015 Development Agenda

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to promoting a law and justice component within the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will push for a post-2015 millennium development goal of promoting internal security and stability and the rule of law.

Baroness Northover: Ahead of the UN High-Level Panel (HLP) meeting on the post-2015 development goals on 1 November, the UK hosted a day of seminars for panel members on issues that might feature in the new framework. This included sessions on access to justice and personal security.
	As co-chair of the High-Level Panel, the Prime Minister is keen that the post-2015 development goals tackle the root causes of poverty. This includes strengthening the rule of law, promoting greater access to justice and providing stable and secure environments for all citizens.

Post-2015 Millennium Development Goals

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what procedures they will adopt to engage directly with Members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords in providing their input to, and monitoring of, the deliberations of the High-Level Panel on Post-2015 Millennium Development Goals.

Baroness Northover: The International Development Committee has launched an inquiry into the post-2015 development agenda. The Department for International Development, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provided joint written evidence and the Secretary of State for International Development, the right honourable Justine Greening MP, gave oral evidence in November 2012. Her Majesty's Government (HMG) Ministers are also engaging directly in parliamentary debates, such as the adjournment debates in the House of Commons (January and October 2012) and the Lords debate in November 2012. HMG are also answering large numbers of Parliamentary Questions about the post-2015 development goals and engaging with parliamentarians through All-Party Parliamentary Groups.

Post-2015 Millennium Development Goals

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government which civil society organisations have held discussions with the High-Level Panel on Post-2015 Millennium Development Goals.

Baroness Northover: In parallel to the High-Level Panel meetings, held in New York and London, a global online civil society consultation provided the opportunity to respond to questions on individual and household poverty.
	Many members of the High-Level Panel have organised their own national or regional consultations-many of them with civil society representatives.

Post-2015 Millennium Development Goals

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what topics were discussed, and what were the outcomes of these discussions, at the last meeting of the High-Level Panel on Post-2015 Millennium Development Goals.

Baroness Northover: The first substantive meeting of the post-2015 High-Level Panel took place in London in early November. The panel discussed individual and household level poverty-with a particular emphasis on human development, jobs and livelihoods. In a day of UK-hosted seminars, panellists also addressed key issues related to poverty reduction with some of the world's foremost experts-including sessions on future social and economic projections, the rule of law and good stewardship of natural resources. Panellists agreed on a set of questions that set the agenda for the panel's work and will frame its report. They discussed elements of a vision statement where there was strong support for ending poverty in our time while putting in place the building blocks of sustained prosperity.

Prisoners: Ethnicity and Religion

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they collect on prisoners' ethnicity and religious backgrounds; and what are the most recent figures for which information is available.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they hold on the number of religious conversions in prison.

Lord McNally: Tables A and B provide information on population in prison establishments by ethnicity and religion as at 30 September 2012.
	Information on the number of prisoners who convert to each religion while in prison is not held centrally. The data held centrally relate to prisoners' current declared religion, not any previously declared religion.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Muslims

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what specialist advisers are employed within the prison service in relation to Muslim detainees; and what are their roles and responsibilities.

Lord McNally: There are a range of specialists employed by the National Offender Management Service to meet the needs of prisoners generally. The service also employs a Muslim adviser to advise specifically on Islamic issues relating to prisoners and to be one of the tiers of approval in the appointment process of all Muslim chaplains. Chaplaincy teams in prisons will include Muslim chaplains whose role includes providing religious and pastoral support to Muslim prisoners.

Prisons: Lincoln Prison

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have responded to the finding by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in his report on Lincoln Prison published in October 2012 that the data provided evidence of unequal treatment of black and minority ethnic prisoners.

Lord McNally: NOMS is committed to fairness for all in its duty of care towards prisoners. Prison Service Instruction 32/2011 "Ensuring Equality" sets out the policy approach and lists key mandatory actions designed to ensure legal compliance in prison establishments. This is supplemented by comprehensive guidance. This compliance is audited. In the course of 2012-13 it is proposed to improve on the range and quality of monitoring data with the aim of driving forward improvements at both national and local levels.
	Since the inspection of HMP Lincoln a new governor has been appointed and he has introduced new arrangements related to equality issues to engage with prisoners in minority groups, including those from black and minority ethnic communities.
	As with all establishment inspection reports by HMIP, NOMS intends to produce an action plan responding to all the recommendations made in the report between three and six months after the date of publication. I will therefore write to the noble Baroness detailing the response to the specific recommendations about this matter once the plan has been sent to the chief inspector.

Prisons: Lincoln Prison

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have sought an explanation for the finding of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in his report on Lincoln Prison published in October 2012 that work, training and education places in a new academy were almost empty whilst up to half the prisoners were locked in their cells during the working part of the day.

Lord McNally: Since the inspection a new governor has been appointed to HMP Lincoln. He is working closely with a new learning and skills provider and other partners to improve and monitor attendance at work, training and education places. They are committed to delivering an appropriate level of offender learning to meet the needs of prisoners, and thereby improving on the previous arrangements and partnership working that existed.
	Work is also under way on the reorganisation of Lincoln, in order to deliver a more effective regime.
	As with all establishment inspection reports by HMIP, NOMS intends to produce an action plan responding to all the recommendations made in the report between three and six months after the date of publication. I will therefore write to the noble Baroness detailing the response to the specific recommendations about this matter once the plan has been sent to the chief inspector.

Railways: Stations

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with relevant agencies about the reopening of a rail station in Walworth.

Earl Attlee: We are not aware of any discussions that have taken place with agencies about the reopening of a rail station in Walworth.

Railways: Stations

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what public money has been spent on the following railway stations (1) New Cross, (2) New Cross Gate, (3) St John's, (4) Lewisham, and (5) Ladywell, in 2010 and 2011.

Earl Attlee: Under the National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP) £695,000 and £95,000 were spent on improvements to the waiting accommodation at Lewisham Station in 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively.
	Under the Access for All (AfA) main programme, £138,000 has been spent so far at New Cross towards a £2.5 million project and £171,000 at New Cross Gate towards a £4 million project, most of which will have been spent in 2010 and 2011. As part of the AfA small scheme programme, a further £65,000 was spent at New Cross Gate in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	At Lewisham, a £5.7 million Access for All project was completed in 2010, although only a minimal amount of this sum would have been spent in 2010.

Railways: Stations

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have spent on (1) Elephant and Castle, and (2) Denmark Hill, railway stations in (a) 2010, and (b) 2011.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Under the National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP) £11,000, £30,000 and £879,000 was spent on station improvements at Denmark Hill station in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 respectively.
	£3.4 million of funding under the Access for All (AfA) main programme has also been spent towards a £4.18 million project at Denmark Hill, which is due for completion in 2013. Of this, £400,000 was spent in 2010 and £1.6 million in 2011.
	Under the station commercial project facility, £328,000 was awarded in 2011 for new station ticket gates and £80,000 to improve retail facilities for passengers at Denmark Hill.
	There is no record of equivalent expenditure at Elephant and Castle.

Rodents

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the rat population in (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Greater London, and (4) Northern Ireland, in each of the past 15 years for which information is available.

Lord De Mauley: Defra has made no estimate of the size of the rat population in England, Wales, Greater London or Northern Ireland in any of the last 15 years.
	Defra has published data on rodent presence in domestic dwellings. The most recent information published by Defra is a report in May 2010 of the interim analysis of rodent presence in domestic properties from data for 2005, 2006 and 2007. This reported that there was no significant increase in rat presence inside dwellings between 1996 and 2007. The presence of rats outside dwellings increased between 1996 and 2001 but between 2001 and 2007, although the presence of rats outside dwellings fluctuated, there were no statistically significant increases or decreases.

Rodents

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have (1) taken, and (2) plan to take, to reduce the rodent population in (a) Greater London, (b) England, (c) Wales, and (d) Northern Ireland.

Lord De Mauley: Responsibility for dealing with problems caused by wild animals normally rests with the occupier of the land concerned.
	Under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that their districts are kept, as far as is practicable, free of rats. The Act gives local authorities the power to require landowners and occupiers to control rat infestations on their land. A local authority can also, where necessary, carry out the control work itself and recover the cost of such action from the landowner or occupier.
	Natural England provides advice on controlling rat infestations; its publication Rats: Options for Controlling Infestations is available on its website.

Schools: Primary School Places

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide extra funding to increase primary school places in the Greater London area.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The department provides basic need funding to local authorities to support the provision of additional pupil places and we will confirm the 2013-14 allocations by the end of January 2013. The Chancellor, as part of the recent Autumn Statement, announced that an additional £980 million of investment to support the creation of new pupil places will be made in schools in England by the end of this Parliament. The department will make further information about this funding available in the new year.

Schools: Primary School Places

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of the availability of primary school places, including state-funded church schools, in London.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The department collects pupil place data from all local authorities through the Annual Schools Capacity Survey. The most recent information, which includes state-funded church schools, relates to the position as at May 2011 and shows that there were 1,779 primary schools in London providing 622,597 primary places. Also as at May 2011, a total of 40,353 unfilled places were available across London. The data to provide detail on the May 2012 position will be available in the new year.

Scotland: Independence

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Iceland about the remarks by that country's President, Olafur Grimson, that independence for Scotland could be the "road towards prosperity and a good society".

Baroness Warsi: There are no plans for the Government to make representations to the Icelandic Government about the referendum on Scottish independence.
	As the Government have made clear, any decisions on Scotland's future are for the people in Scotland to decide. The Government are confident that Scotland will choose to remain part of the UK and are therefore not planning for any other outcome. The government position is clear: Scotland is stronger in the UK and the UK is stronger with Scotland in it.

Sport: Motor Racing

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made regarding allowing motor racing on closed public roads.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: The Department for Transport is currently considering the case for making it easier to hold on-road motor racing events and intends to consult in the spring.

Sudan

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will seek to ensure that the Paris Club opposes any debt relief for Sudan until the Government of that country have been shown to have ceased all military action against civilians in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Lord Sassoon: Any future debt relief for Sudan would take place as part of a wider reform programme that may be prepared by the IMF and would be subject to decisions made by the boards of the IMF, World Bank and Paris Club, on which the UK Government are represented. This would be subject to the same requirements and obligations as for any other country.
	It is important that the Government of Sudan demonstrate their full commitment to the reduction of poverty across the whole country. Ongoing conflicts are a significant cause of poverty and an obstacle to the implementation of development plans.

Sudan

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what further pressure they will put on the Government of Sudan to allow access for humanitarian aid for the peoples of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, particularly in view of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement North's offer to initiate a ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian aid access.

Baroness Northover: We welcome the statement by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement North on 19 December expressing their readiness for a ceasefire. It is now imperative that they, and the Government of Sudan, enter into direct talks immediately and without preconditions, aimed at a cessation of hostilities. A political settlement remains the best hope for the people of the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. Working with the United Nations, African Union, League of Arab States and other international partners, we will continue to press both sides to co-operate so that we see these talks begin and full humanitarian access granted.

Syria

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the provision of European Union and other international aid and supplies to Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon to assist Syrian refugees in those countries.

Baroness Northover: The European Union has provided substantial funding for the crisis in Syria, including for refugees in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Total EU humanitarian funding for the Syria response to date is well over €320 million. €120 million of this total is provided by the European Commission, with over €200 million by member states. The UK is a leading donor among the EU member states, providing £68.5 million, at least £24 million of which is going to help refugees in neighbouring countries.
	The UK continues to monitor the situation closely and actively consider what more we can do. We are calling on the international community, including the EU, to step up and provide more funding, or co-ordinate bilateral assistance with the UN appeals.

Syria

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Syria to allow access by international aid organisations to all civilians including Christians and other religious minorities in Aleppo and Homs.

Baroness Northover: The UK is calling on all parties to the conflict in Syria to facilitate improved access, respect international humanitarian law, facilitate safe passage for humanitarian workers and supplies, and permit civilians to evacuate conflict zones safely. Most recently we did this at the Friends of Syria meeting on 12 December 2012. We are also working closely with the UN on this matter. The UN's Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordinator, Baroness Amos, recently visited Syria and met the Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid Muallem, to discuss humanitarian access, among other issues.

Syria

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Governments of Greece and Turkey to allow access for refugees from the fighting in Syria.

Baroness Northover: There are over 550,000 refugees from Syria in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. We welcome the generous effort of these countries in hosting thousands of refugees and co-ordinating with the UN-led humanitarian response to assist them. We have been clear in our engagement with host Governments, including Turkey's, to press the importance of keeping their borders open to allow refugees to flee the violence in Syria, in line with international law. We understand a small number of Syrians have requested asylum in Greece. The UK is providing assistance to Greece to improve their immigration and asylum management in the context of the EU's support for Greece's action plan.
	The UK has provided £68.5 million to assist people affected by the violence in Syria, including £24 million to support refugees. We continue actively to consider what more we can do to ease the desperate suffering of the Syrian people.

Taxation: Avoidance

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many large multinational companies they estimate are trading in the United Kingdom and organising their tax affairs to pay little or no corporation tax.

Lord Sassoon: All multinationals plan and manage their tax compliance. The amount of tax they have to pay is affected by a range of factors, including how they arrange their affairs. There are a range of rules designed to ensure that profits earned in the UK are taxed here. HM Revenue & Customs ensures that multinationals pay the tax that is due under UK tax law.

Taxation: Avoidance

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to avoid any tax avoidance arising from their proposal for employees to exchange shares for employment rights; and whether they agree with the Office for Budget Responsibility's assessment of the potential risk of avoidance or evasion arising from the proposal.

Lord Sassoon: The Government are introducing a new employee shareholder employment status. Employees adopting the new status will receive a minimum of £2,000-worth of shares. Any gains made, on up to £50,000-worth of shares, will be exempt from capital gains tax (CGT).
	The Government will take steps to prevent manipulation of CGT exemption available on shares received under the status. The draft capital gains tax legislation, published on 11 December 2012, sets out a number of anti-avoidance provisions, including rules to preserve the integrity of the £50,000 limit and to prevent those in control of a company from accessing the CGT exemption.
	The Government agree with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that predicting take-up of new policies, such as the new employment status, is difficult. However, some further clarification is needed. The OBR refers to tax planning-not avoidance. Encouraging take-up of this targeted employment policy should not be misconstrued as encouraging avoidance. In addition, the potential costs of the policy referred to by the OBR are estimated to take place well beyond the end of the forecast period.
	If further provisions are needed to address particular avoidance risks, the Government will have the opportunity to include these at a later date, with a view to ensuring that this policy does not become disproportionately costly to the taxpayer. The Government keep all areas of tax policy under review at all times.

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are projected to be paying income tax at the 40% rate in the financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14; and how many paid income tax at that rate in 2009-10.

Lord Sassoon: The number of people with higher-rate income tax liabilities is projected at 4.10 million in 2012-13 and 4.72 million in 2013-14. In 2009-10, 3.19 million people paid income tax at that rate.
	These estimates are based on the 2009-10 Survey of Personal Incomes data, projected to 2012-13 and 2013-14, using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's December 2012 economic and fiscal outlook.

Thames Tunnel

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government which company will be responsible for developing and financing the construction of the Thames Tunnel Project and whether it will adopt the Equator Principles in arranging its financing.

Lord De Mauley: Thames Water Utilities Ltd (TWUL) is the sewerage undertaker in London and is responsible for ensuring a solution to ongoing sewage discharges into the Thames.
	While a final decision is yet to be taken, the current working assumption is that the proposed Thames Tideway Tunnel would be financed and built by a dedicated infrastructure provider (IP) procured via competitive tender by TWUL. The IP would be an independent company separate from TWUL with its own licence from Ofwat.
	Equator Principles are a voluntary set of standards developed by private sector banks for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risks when considering project finance investments. The principles are not designed for companies seeking investments in utility services under a well established regulatory regime which already balances the economic, social and environmental aims of sustainable development.
	It is unlikely that there would be benefit for Thames Water customers in restricting investment to institutions that have signed up the Equator Principles, but any tender specification for an IP is for Thames Water to determine within the regulatory framework.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of progress in the Turks and Caicos Islands since the cessation of direct rule and the election of a new Government in November 2012.

Baroness Warsi: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), visited the Turks and Caicos Islands on 26 to 28 November and had discussions with Premier Ewing, his new Government and a wide range of stakeholders. Mr Simmonds and the Premier had a bilateral meeting in London on 3 December and Premier Ewing took part in the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council from 4 to 5 December.
	Premier Ewing's new Government have set out an ambitious agenda for the Turks and Caicos Islands which includes the development of the economy, educating and empowering its people, creating opportunities for its workforce, moving towards self-reliance in key areas, the restoration of national pride and achieving desired standards in healthcare and the security of its borders.

Unemployment

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the willingness to work of those experiencing long-term unemployment.

Lord Freud: All those counted in the Labour Force Survey as unemployed, including the long-term unemployed, must have looked for work in the last four weeks and be available to take up work in the next two weeks. People not actively looking for a job are counted as economically inactive rather than unemployed.
	People claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than 12 months are still required to bring evidence of job search to their fortnightly job search review at the Jobcentre, in addition to activity they are doing to find work supported by their work programme provider.
	The department is aware of the challenges currently facing jobseekers in the labour market and a substantial body of support has been put in place to help people move into work. Jobcentres currently offer claimants a comprehensive menu of help including skills provision and job search support. This is bolstered by a number of specific measures including work experience placements, the work programme, the youth contract and support for those looking to start their own business through the new enterprise allowance.
	Previous recessions have typically seen a rise in inactivity, including more people claiming unemployment-related benefits who had reduced their job search efforts. No such trend has been seen this time around: excluding full-time students, the inactivity rate is the lowest since records began in 1993.

Universal Credit

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government which areas of the country will be covered by the universal credit pilots due to commence in April 2013.

Lord Freud: Pathfinder is the early implementation of universal credit in April 2013, in the Greater Manchester and Cheshire area, which will enable us to test the end-to-end process in advance of the national launch of universal credit in October 2013.
	The people who will be able to claim universal credit during pathfinder will be single, unemployed people with or without rented housing costs, who live in the Tameside, Wigan, Oldham and Warrington local authority areas.

Universal Credit

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision and support will be provided for universal credit claimants who do not have access to the internet at home, and for those who do not have the ability to use the internet.

Lord Freud: Universal credit will be predominantly online, although telephony and face-to-face channels will remain available. At whatever point claimants enter the system, they will be signposted to the most appropriate channel for their needs.
	We recognise some claimants do not have access to the internet and will require support to go online. Our current plans are to provide claimants with help to get online and to stay online over the phone and to provide access to the internet at jobcentres and through partners.

Winter Fuel Payments

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider taxing winter fuel payments for pensioners rather than means-testing those payments.

Lord Newby: The Government have no plans to means-test winter fuel payments or make them taxable. The coalition agreement set out that the Government will protect key benefits for older people, including winter fuel payments.

Written Ministerial Statements

Lord Hughes of Woodside: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Strathclyde on 12 November (WA 249), and in the light of Recommendation 42 of the Report of the Leader's Group on Working Practices (HL Paper 136, Session 2010-12), whether they will issue guidance that Ministers should publish written responses to all substantial points raised in House of Lords debates and not answered orally in the Official Report as Written Ministerial Statements.

Lord Strathclyde: I do not intend to issue such guidance to Ministers. The Official Report is held in perpetuity and covered by parliamentary privilege, and therefore not every written response by a Minister to a point raised in a debate in the House will be suitable for publication as a Written Ministerial Statement.